I propose to take Priority Question No. 1 and Questions Nos. 81 to 84, inclusive, together.
The National Competitiveness Council reports to the Taoiseach and me every year on key com petitiveness issues for the Irish economy. In its most recent annual competitiveness report, in 2002, the council acknowledged that, over the last decade, the Irish economy has enjoyed significant advances, allowing convergence across key areas with many of our competitors. A virtuous circle of low inflation, moderate wage increases, lower taxes and higher productivity was maintained and, as a result, the economy has been extremely competitive in recent years.
The council does not rank countries as a whole or assign a single position on competitiveness, but rather examines their competitiveness under specific relevant headings or indicators to determine progress, or otherwise, in the areas concerned. For example, the most recent report makes clear that in the period 1997 to 2002, the five-year percentage change in total employment in Ireland was the highest recorded, at 25.3%, and ranked us first among all comparator countries.
I am aware that there are various international scoreboarding reports which rank countries regarding various aspects of competitiveness. In particular I note that the last published global competitiveness report, produced by the World Economic Forum, recorded Ireland slipping in the period 2001-02 from 11th to 24th place under growth competitiveness index rankings, while it improved from 22nd to 20th place under microeconomic competitiveness index rankings. In the period 1998 to 2002, which is the earliest starting date recorded in the report, Ireland slipped from 13th place to 20th under these microeconomic indicators.
The World Competitiveness Yearbook 2002, which is produced by the Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, ranked Ireland in tenth place, a drop of three places from its 1998 position. Looking to the future and having regard to the difficult economic conditions now prevailing, I agree that we must vigorously address the key competitiveness issues, particularly those that impact on inflation.
The Government is already taking measures to improve our competitiveness which will play a critical role in the fight against inflation. These include: strengthening competition across the economy and implementing specific measures to tackle cost pressures in key areas such as insurance; increasing investment in research, technology and innovation which will provide the basis for future productivity growth; and continuing to invest in key infrastructure such as broadband telecommunications.