India and Ireland’s bilateral trade (which is €16 billion at present) is slated to increase once the India-EU FTA is ratified and comes into effect next year. “Ireland is already doing €16 billion worth of trade each year with India in goods and services, and that represents 10 per cent of all of India’s trade with the European Union,” Rossa Fanning, Attorney General of Ireland, told Business India. “So, even as a standalone proposition, today, the Irish economic relationship with India is a significant one, and there is now clearly a substantial upside potential for further growth, in the light of an environment that is changing favourably because of the free trade agreement”. Fanning has been serving as the Attorney General of Ireland since 2022. As the chief law officer, he is the primary legal advisor to the Irish government and attends Cabinet meetings.
Ireland and India share strong bilateral relations rooted in their histories as former British colonies and today’s trading partners. Ireland is only 4 per cent in terms of size of the EU, but its share of trade with India is 10 per cent of India’s trade with the EU. “In addition, about 100,000 Indians are living in Ireland, which is 2 per cent of Ireland’s entire population. Ireland is a country of just 5.7 million people. Indians work in vital industries in Ireland, such as healthcare and technology. There are also a large number of students (nearly 15,000 at present),” he added.
There were instances of hate crimes against Indian students reported last year, which were criticised by the Irish government and were termed as stray incidents and not part of a pattern. “Racially committed hate crimes are condemned and not tolerated and accepted,” he added. Indian students are the second highest in numbers in Ireland, when compared with other countries in the EU.
“Apart from the enormous potential for growth, it’s important that we at a governmental level maintain and improve the existing links,” Fanning said. “On my visit to India, I have met the Chief Justice of India and also the minister for law & justice.
Common law structure
Interestingly, the two countries have a legal connection. “Ireland and India share a common law structure inherited from the UK. We are both English-speaking former British colonies, so both our legal systems have the same imprint upon them. Secondly, there is commonality in our constitution too, as India took inspiration from the Irish document,” AG Fanning said. “As Ireland got its independence in 1937, a decade prior to India getting its freedom, so we had a lot to share when India’s Constitution was being drafted”.
There are no direct flights between India and Ireland yet, but there have been consultations going on between Irish ministers and India’s civil aviation authorities to rectify this. Shortage of aircraft is one of the main reasons for the delay in having direct flights between the two nations.
Meanwhile, talking about the ongoing conflict in West Asia and its possible consequences, AG Fanning said that there are short-term challenges to begin with. “The conflict has led to disruptions of travel for people across the globe, as the UAE is not an option for now. I too was to travel via Dubai to reach India but had to change and re-route to fly on KLM via Schiphol airport,” he added.