http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PaMWh-7Z5M

YouTube: Hugh O’Connell

TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY has said that the proposed trade deal between the European Union and the United States could mean thousands of jobs for Ireland if an agreement is reached in the coming years.

G8 leaders agreed to move forward with negotiations on the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which proposes a grand trade deal between the EU and the US that could be worth billions of euro to both areas’ economies.

Negotiations will begin in Washington next month and Kenny said the deal could be wrapped within two to two-and-a-half years.

Speaking following meetings with G8 leaders at the summit in Lough Erne this evening, Kenny said that the potential of the deal is “enormous”, adding: “We would see several thousand jobs for Ireland at the end of this.”

Watch more on what benefit the trade deal could have for Ireland, according to Enda Kenny:

YouTube: Hugh O’Connell

Caption Competition: What are the G8 leaders chatting about?

Read: G8 leaders agree to negotiate ‘the biggest bilateral trade deal in history’