Jordan Hansen

(Daily Montanan) As Montana celebrates St. Patrick’s Day, a new agreement would tie Ireland closer to the Treasure State.

Senate Bill 320, brought by Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka, which is awaiting the governor’s signature, will create the Montana-Ireland Trade Commission. Ireland has made an effort during the past few years to tie itself closer to American states and virtually identical bills have been brought in over a dozen other states, from South Carolina to Indiana.

“Some of the other states have created a Trade Commission, and I’m not sure how much follow through they’ve done,” Cuffe said in an interview with the Daily Montanan. “I intend for ours to hit the ground running.”

Montana has a significant Irish population, some of which stems from early mining activities in the state. Butte and Helena, for example, have a large number of residents with Irish heritage.

Cuffe also said he’s a direct descendant of Irish immigrants. But this isn’t a bill celebrating that, exactly, and Cuffe is serious about the partnership bringing more financial opportunities to the state.

“A lot of people, they think it’s funny, they think it’s cool,” Cuffe said of the partnership. “I happen to think it’s serious business. My goal is to make real things happen.”

Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, is a European tech hub. Major companies have facilities in Dublin, including Google, Microsoft, and eBay, among others. Notably, following Great Britain’s exit from the European Union, Ireland is also the only English-speaking country in the EU.

Bozeman has developed into a tech hub in its own right, with companies such as Oracle setting up shop in Gallatin County. The state of Montana was also designated a “Regional Technology and Innovation Hub” by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2023.

There’s also an agricultural component too, and while there is a thriving beef industry in Ireland, the country imported 113 million pounds of beef in 2022. Cuffe also mentioned there are Montana companies looking to export hay machinery as well.

The cost for shipping the equipment is high, Cuffe said, and the hope is the trade commission will be able to connect buyers and sellers. Whiskey imports have also been mentioned.

Cuffe’s district is in northwestern Montana and the hope, too, is to be able to connect rural folks with more opportunities to move their product.

“If we can put together a bigger deal where they can ship, let’s just say, container loads that they share with other people, all of a sudden, what is impossible today becomes possible tomorrow,” Cuffe said. “That is my real inspiration, to try to help out the smaller hinterlands.”

The bill had very little opposition and through both the House and Senate, only two votes were cast against the bill — Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, and Rep. Caleb Hinkle, R-Belgrade voted against the commission on its third reading.

Rep. Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, carried the bill in the House. Leadership from both sides of the aisle signed on to the bill, which had which more than 100 sponsors across the two chambers.

No state money is being used for the commission, Cuffe said. Senate and House leadership — both majority and minority — will be able to appoint one person to the commission. The state’s directors of Commerce and Agriculture also will appoint a person to the commission and the governor will fill two slots. Appointments are for two years.

“I think the commission will be a really great opportunity to help facilitate business to business trade between Montana and Ireland,” Sullivan said in an interview with the Daily Montanan. “Operators and high tech businesses might have some exciting opportunities to learn how they can sell their goods into Ireland. And the commission will be a fun place to start helping facilitate those conversations.”