
‘Who knew Irish weather would be such a draw?' Lisney boss David Byrne on Europeans joining Trump-averse US buyers for their place in the shade
American house buyers with objections to US President Donald Trump and continental Europeans hunting for cooler holiday homes are helping drive international demand at real estate agent Lisney, says managing director David Byrne.
Byrne says Lisney, one of Ireland's largest privately-owned multidisciplinary property advisory firms, has a list of over 150 Americans seeking homes here. Many of these buyers are looking to cross the Atlantic because they aren't happy with what is happening under Trump's administration.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
EU-US trade deal: Business groups welcome certainty but say 15% tariff 'still substantial burden'
Business groups have tentatively welcomed the framework trade agreement reached between the EU and the US, as it brings more certainty for firms, but the 15% tariff on imports to the US 'still represents a substantial burden for many industries'. On Sunday, US president Donald Trump met with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at his golf course in Scotland to finalise a framework trade deal with the EU. The agreement will see the US impose 15% tariffs on imports from the bloc. This is up from the 10% currently in place, but is lower than the 30% Mr Trump threatened to impose from August 1 should a deal not have been reached. Trade between the EU and the US accounts for almost a third of global trade. Speaking after the meeting, Mr Trump said: 'I think this is the biggest deal ever made.' Ms von der Leyen said the deal will 'bring stability, it will bring predictability'. Ms von der Leyen defended the trade deal as 'the best we could get', adding that it was not to be underestimated given the looming threat of 30% tariffs. A baseline tariff rate of 15% on EU goods imported into the US would apply to cars, semiconductors and pharmaceutical goods, Ms von der Leyen said. Meanwhile, a zero-for-zero tariff rate had been agreed for certain strategic products, including aircraft and aircraft parts, certain chemicals, and certain generic drugs. No decision has been made on a rate for wine and spirits. The deal also includes $600bn of EU investments in the US, along with EU purchases of US energy and military equipment. Ibec: Brexit-style supports needed Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy said the agreement brings an 'end to a significant amount of uncertainty for some businesses'. 'However, a 15% tariff still represents a substantial burden for many industries. 'Sectors which rely heavily on the US market, and operate within small margins, will once again be significantly impacted by an additional 5% tariff on top of what they have already had to absorb over the past several months, and well in excess of the 1% effective tariff which existed before April." He added: 'Our message to the Government, as it was with the 10% tariff, is that the most exposed sectors will require support similar to the interventions provided as a response to Brexit. Chamber Ireland: Viable firms need tariff supports Chamber Ireland welcomed the agreement on trade tariffs, with its chief executive Ian Talbot stating: 'Certainty is critical for businesses, and we've seen the impact of uncertainty over the past couple of months in terms of investment. 'While tariffs are never welcome news for businesses on either side of the Atlantic, reaching an agreement — however imperfect — is preferable to no deal. It, at least, allows companies to plan and adapt in the short term.' Mr Talbot also called for the EU and the Government to create a 'fund to support viable businesses in adapting to new tariffs', and also to ensure 'potential arbitrage issues with Northern Ireland are clearly understood and addressed'. This is the latest deal Mr Trump has reached with a few countries around the world before his August 1 deadline. Agreements with the US have also been reached with Britain, Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam, but Mr Trump's administration has failed to deliver on a promise of '90 deals in 90 days'. He has periodically railed against the EU, saying it was 'formed to screw the US on trade'. Mr Trump said that the EU wanted 'to make a deal very badly' and said, as he met Ms von der Leyen, that Europe had been 'very unfair to the US'. His main bugbear is the US merchandise trade deficit with the EU, which reached $235bn in 2024, according to the US Census Bureau data. The EU points to the US surplus in services, which it says partially redresses the balance. Mr Trump also talked about the 'hundreds of billions of dollars' that tariffs were bringing in. Additional reporting Reuters


Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Taoiseach welcomes trade deal between EU and US
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has welcomed a deal between the European Union and the United States, which will see a 15% tariff on most EU imports to the US. The deal was reached during a meeting between Donald Trump and the president of the European Commission on Sunday. The US president met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to hammer out the final details on the trading relationship between Europe and the US. Reacting to the deal, Mr Martin said the agreement was very welcome. 'It brings clarity and predictability to the trading relationship between the EU and the US – the biggest in the world,' the Fianna Fail leader said. 'That is good for businesses, investors and consumers. It will help protect many jobs in Ireland. 'The negotiations to get us to this point have been long and complex, and I would like to thank both teams for their patient work. 'We will now study the detail of what has been agreed, including its implications for businesses exporting from Ireland to the US, and for different sectors operating here. 'The agreement is a framework and there will be more detail to be fleshed out in the weeks and months ahead.' Mr Martin said the higher tariffs will have an impact on trade between the EU and the US, which will make it more expensive and more challenging. US President Donald Trump enjoyed a round of golf before his meeting with Ursula von der Leyen 'However, it also creates a new era of stability that can hopefully contribute to a growing and deepening relationship between the EU and the US, which is important not just for the EU and the US, but for the global economy,' he added. 'Given the very real risk that existed for escalation and for the imposition of punitively high tariffs, this news will be welcomed by many.' The deal was also welcomed by deputy Irish premier and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris, who said it brings clarity to businesses. 'While we have yet to see the detail, I welcome that an agreement has been announced by Commission President von der Leyen and US President Trump,' Mr Harris said in a statement. 'A deal provides a measure of much-needed certainty for Irish, European and American businesses who together represent the most integrated trading relationship in the world. Ireland makes a key contribution to this with the Ireland-US economic relationship valued at more than one trillion euros. 'The US had made clear, and this has been replicated in other recent agreements, which the US has reached with other countries, that a baseline tariff was always going to be part of the outcome. 'I have always stressed that tariffs are damaging and will have a negative impact on companies exporting to the US. 'While Ireland regrets that the baseline tariff of 15% is included in the agreement, it is important that we now have more certainty on the foundations for the EU-US trade relationship, which is essential for jobs, growth and investment. 'President von der Leyen described this as 15% tariffs across the board, all-inclusive.' He said further detail is needed around pharma, aviation and other sectors. Mr Harris said he will examine the details of the agreement over the coming days to establish the effect on Irish businesses and the economy. Earlier, EU commissioner Michael McGrath said the meeting was a 'significant and decisive moment'. Mr McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, said it would involve substantive negotiations between both sides. 'It's a significant moment, we hope a decisive moment, and it builds on an enormous amount of work that has been done over quite a period of time,' Mr McGrath said ahead of the meeting. 'President Trump invited President von der Leyen to Scotland for a meeting. 'This follows on the back of intensive negotiations over a number of months. He added: 'It is not a case of turning up and signing on the dotted line. There will be a real discussion that will happen, and it will take on a dynamic of its own, and let's see what happens over the course of the afternoon. 'But from the EU's point of view, we are determined to do all that we can to get a deal for European businesses, because we recognise the cost of uncertainty. 'It manifests in trade and in investment decisions and ultimately in employment and of course tariffs can cost consumers at the end of the day. 'We want a good deal. We have negotiated hard, and we're at a point now where hopefully the two leaders can today bring it to a concluding phase.' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.


RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Concern over future of planned €300m Wicklow film studio
Concerns have been raised about the future of a €300m film studio planned for Greystones in Co Wicklow because three years after the project was launched, there has been no sign of progress. Locals say there's a lack of information about what's happening to the site, and expressed concern about the €24m of taxpayers money committed to the project. They say if the media campus, which was expected to create 1,500 jobs, is no longer viable, the land should be used for other business purposes. Plans for state of the art studio and production facilities on the 44 acre site were unveiled to much fanfare in 2022, promising to build Ireland's largest tv and film campus, which was to have begun operating in 2024. A consortium called Hackman Capital Partners took a lease on IDA land for the Greystones Media Campus for 999 years at just under €600 a year Louise Gaskin, Chair of the East Wicklow Business Network, says her members are concerned about the lack of progress on the site and the "void" of information about the project. "It would bring a lot of community employment and it would bring for businesses locally, huge economic development. "Lying idle, it's becoming an ugly site, overgrown, just lying there doing nothing. "First of all we were being told it was about the actors strike going on. Then we were told it's commercially sensitive. Then we're getting blanks. "No one's coming back with information. So who has the information? Someone has to know something." Ms Gaskin said that - if there are questions about the viability of the project - she would like to see the lease agreement revoked and the land put to other business use. Since the launch of the Greystones Media Campus three years ago, planning permission has also been granted for a large media campus in South Dublin called Dublin Fields. However, those in the industry say that the facilities at Greystones are still badly needed. Larry Bass, Founder and CEO of ShinAwil Productions, says the lack of studio space in Ireland meant that his company had to build a new studio to film Dancing With the Stars when it returned after Covid-19 lockdowns. He said that, despite global uncertainty and the threat by Donald Trump of tariffs on the industry, Ireland's film industry personnel remain in demand, but the lack of studio space is a barrier to attracting productions here "Apple, Amazon, Netflix, the BBC, the big American networks, these studios will all still, thankfully, be creating new shows. "We're an English language country, we've got a fantastic crew base. "It has evolved from, maybe five or six thousand people working in the industry 20 years ago to over thirty thousand people, highly skilled, highly sought after. "All we need is the raw material, the place, to build. And you know, this has never been a truer statement. If you build it, watch them come." The Department of Finance said that while investment is likely to be on a phased basis, it can't say how much of the €24m committed to the Greystones Media Campus has been spent to date. It also says that the current Minister has not had any engagement on the project from the Irish Strategic Investment Fund or the consortium behind it, Hackman Capital Partners. A spokesman for the consortium said that they will make a statement on the project in the coming months.