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Economic Competitiveness

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 November 2012

Thursday, 22 November 2012

Questions (105)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

105. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he is satisfied of the ability of industry here to compete with the competition in domestic and export markets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52066/12]

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Written answers

Companies compete for business in all markets, domestic and overseas, primarily on the basis of their product or service offering. Issues that influence a company’s ability to compete successfully and win business include price, quality, innovative nature of the offering and customer service. Competitiveness in the broad business environment is determined by a variety of factors, including the cost of doing business, productivity levels, availability of skilled labour, good infrastructure, the quality and intensity of innovation and research, and regulation that supports enterprise growth.

As a country in which to do business and sell both at home and abroad, Ireland has regained some of the competitiveness it had lost and this is reflected in the fact that Ireland’s rating improved four places from 24th to 20th in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook for 2012. Earlier this month, the World Economic Forum also reported that Ireland has improved its competitiveness ranking, from 29th to 27th place in that organisation’s Global Competitiveness Index.

Many Irish companies are among the best and most innovative in the world, with cutting edge, well priced goods and services. Indigenous companies are now selling more overseas than any time in the history of the State. Buoyant international sales led to Enterprise Ireland’s client companies achieving record levels of exports in 2011. The total export figures, at €15.2bn, exceeded the pre-recession record levels of 2008 and new export sales exceeded €2.14bn.

Despite these encouraging trends, we must ensure that the improvements we have achieved are structural in nature and sustained in the longer-term.

The Government’s Action Plan for Jobs 2012 includes a range of initiatives to improve our competitiveness, including measures to promote investment in innovation and research in order to ensure that Ireland’s enterprise base continues to produce the goods and services that customers want to buy; further measures to reduce costs for businesses and a suite of measures designed to align skills with enterprise needs and prioritise critical infrastructural investment.

A number of steps have already been taken to enable indigenous firms to specialise, develop skills and value and scale up including:

- The launch of the new Potential Exporters Division in Enterprise Ireland, to support more indigenous companies to trade in foreign markets,

- Enterprise Ireland’s LEAN initiative aimed at productivity improvement and the development of new business models, thereby enabling client companies increase productivity and competitiveness,

- The Launch of a new Development Capital Scheme, aimed at addressing a funding gap for mid-sized, high-growth, indigenous companies, and

- Improvements to the R&D tax credit scheme.

We will build on this progress in the 2013 Action Plan for Jobs which will set out further measures to ensure that enterprises trading in and from Ireland continue to win business here and overseas, thereby promoting employment and economic growth.

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