Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 November 2012
51. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he has received a copy of the EU study on competitiveness across the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45659/12]
View answerThe European Commission’s Competitiveness Report 2012 was published on 19 October last. The report analyses competitiveness across the European Union as a whole and examines the related challenges and opportunities faced by European enterprises.
The focus of the 2012 report is on the potential for Europe to benefit from the globalisation of trade. It points out that many of the opportunities for, and challenges to, EU recovery are to be found in markets outside Europe. Emerging industrialised economies are increasingly competing with Europe, but they also offer opportunities for export growth.
The Competitiveness report is very detailed and technical, running to in excess of 260 pages, but it concludes that European industry is well positioned to benefit from globalisation.
In addition to the main report, the Commission has produced country-specific summaries of the competitiveness situation in each Member State.
The summary for Ireland shows that we are better than the EU average in the vast majority of the competitiveness indicators examined, including in relation to labour productivity, our share of high-tech exports, the energy intensity of industry and our overall business environment.
Areas where Ireland is weak compared to the EU average are in relation to access to finance for SMEs, the cost of electricity for medium-sized enterprises and the availability of high speed broadband.
The Commission’s report on Ireland acknowledges the actions that are being taken by the Government under the Action Plan for Jobs to improve the areas of deficit and concludes that the breadth of the Plan and the way implementation has started are promising signs that we are making a determined effort to reduce the differences in the competitiveness of the domestic and multinational sectors.
We will build on this progress in the 2013 Action Plan for Jobs which will set out further measures to improve our competitiveness.
