Huawei Ireland representatives held meetings with Irish Government ministers at a time when European Union institutions had halted contacts with the Chinese tech company’s lobbyists in Brussels.
Items discussed in the Irish meetings included the need for “proportionate” EU regulations, cutting red tape and solar power.
Huawei, which makes telecommunications equipment, including phones, as well as solar technology, employs more than 500 people in Ireland and has been established here for more than 20 years.
Representatives of Huawei Ireland met Ministers Peter Burke, Patrick O’Donovan and Darragh O’Brien in recent months.
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The meetings came at a time when the European Parliament and European Commission suspended contacts with Huawei lobbyists in Brussels following allegations of bribery linked to its lobbying activities there.
Last month the federal prosecutors office in Belgium said an investigation was “ongoing”. Both the European Parliament and Commission confirmed that their respective suspensions of Huawei lobbyists – brought in last March – were still in place.
Huawei Ireland said it was a “separate subsidiary of the wider Huawei Group” and said all its communications with Irish Government officials were “compliant with relevant laws and regulations”.
Separately, Reuters reported in January how Huawei criticised European Commission proposals for phasing out equipment from suppliers deemed to be high risk amid tightening scrutiny of Chinese technology in Europe.
The United States banned approvals of new telecoms equipment from Huawei and another Chinese company in 2022 and urged Europe to follow suit.
“A legislative proposal to limit or exclude non-EU suppliers based on country of origin, rather than factual evidence and technical standards, violates the EU’s basic legal principles of fairness, non-discrimination and proportionality, as well as its WTO (World Trade Organisation) obligations,” a Huawei spokesperson said in the Reuters report.
While Huawei is facing these issues internationally, representatives of its Irish operations have had meetings with Government ministers here.
The company declared the contacts in returns to the Register of Lobbying.
Huawei Ireland chief executive Calvin Lan met Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke on July 16th last year. A note about the meeting, released under the Freedom of Information Act, said the company “gave a presentation on its operations in Ireland and new technologies being rolled out here”.
“Ireland has a number of positives which attract investment from Asia, including a stable policy environment, it is English-speaking and has a good talent pool,” the note also stated. “It is important that EU regulation is proportionate.”
The note also stated that Burke welcomed Huawei’s investment in Ireland and had said that “Ireland’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union will be important” and “regulations must be proportionate.”
A Government statement said Huawei was an IDA client company and Burke “meets with such companies regularly”.
In response to queries – including whether there was discussion at the July meeting with Burke on Huawei being suspended from lobbying in Brussels – the statement said: “There was no discussion of the company’s lobbying.”
It also said: “There was a general discussion on the need to ensure EU regulation is proportionate and ongoing efforts to cut red tape for businesses.”
The statement said Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan met Huawei in November and the company gave him “a general overview” of its activities.
It said Minister for Climate and Energy Darragh O’Brien met Huawei Ireland in December and the meeting “covered the topics of solar and energy storage and grid-management technology”.
A Huawei Ireland statement said it was a “separate subsidiary of the wider Huawei Group and our meetings with Irish Government officials focus solely on Huawei’s business operations in Ireland”.
“All communications between Huawei Ireland and Government officials in Ireland are compliant with relevant laws and regulations,” it said.
“In recent meetings with ministers, we were pleased to have had the opportunity to update them on Huawei’s operations in Ireland, our ongoing investment in the digital ecosystem and our contribution to Ireland’s green energy ambitions.”
Huawei Ireland said it employed more than 500 people directly and supportde the employment of a further 6,100 people through indirect activities.
It cited an Amárach Research study suggesting the “annual economic impact of Huawei in Ireland averages almost €800 million in terms of its contribution to the Irish economy”.
