Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 March 2014
459. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the progress being made in identifying policy options to address the competitiveness challenges facing the business sector in Ireland as per Action 92 of the Action Plan for Jobs; and if he will highlight some of these options. [13165/14]
View answerIreland’s competitiveness performance has improved in recent years, as reflected in our enhanced position in international competitiveness rankings. For example, Ireland has moved up to 17th place in the IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook 2013, having being ranked 24th only two years ago. Ireland is ranked 15th in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2014 Report and was recently named by Forbes magazine as the “Best Country for Business”.
However, we cannot become complacent about our competitive position; many firms are still confronted with high costs which make it difficult for them to grow, create jobs and compete internationally. The 2014 Action Plan for Jobs, which was published at the end of February, places a particular focus on improving competitiveness in all areas of economic activity and contains a range of specific measures aimed at delivering further improvements in our international competitiveness performance. These measures include regular monitoring of the competitiveness agenda by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Jobs, which will report to the Government on a quarterly basis on these issues.
The National Competitiveness Council (NCC), which is an independent body, also has a key role to play in monitoring Ireland’s competitiveness and reports to the Government on key competitiveness issues facing Irish enterprises.
Each year, the NCC publishes Ireland's Competitiveness Scorecard, which benchmarks Ireland's competitiveness performance against a number of our key competitor regions. The Council also publishes Ireland's Competitiveness Challenge which focuses on the competitiveness issues of most importance to the enterprise sector. The report also identifies policy recommendations required to address these issues.
Action 92 in the 2014 Action Plan for Jobs refers to the publication of the Competitiveness Challenge. This report is scheduled to be published in the final Quarter of the year. However, the NCC meets regularly throughout the year to consider the competitiveness agenda and develop its reports. It is supported in its work by Forfás.
Other measures in the Action Plan for Jobs include improving our cost competitiveness, supporting competitive regions, aligning skills with enterprise needs and using research and innovation to drive job creation.
The implementation of these actions, combined with the Government’s exit from the Troika programme and its return to international funding markets, will play a key role in improving our competitiveness further and realising our ambition of making Ireland the best small country in which to do business.
