Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 November 2018
119. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if she is satisfied with Ireland’s rankings in the 2018 global competitiveness report published by the World Economic Forum on 17 October 2018. [46384/18]
View answerImproving our competitiveness and ensuring that Ireland is an attractive location to do business remains a key economic priority for this Government. We continue to monitor Ireland's competitiveness and analyse the factors that are crucial to attracting further investments in the country.
The 2018 World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index Report ranks Ireland 23rd most competitive economy out of 140 countries, maintaining its global competitiveness position from last year. We continue to be the 8th most competitive economy in the euro area and the 11th most competitive economy in the European Union.
Ireland performs well in labour market (7th), business dynamism (10th), Skills (15th) and institutions (17th ). Ireland is also ranked in the top 15 in relation to female participation in labour force, cost of starting a business, attitudes toward entrepreneurial risk and growth of innovative companies. Furthermore, Ireland scores 99.4 out of 100 in terms of macroeconomic environment.
Our positive competitiveness performance is not only reflected in the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness ranking but is also evident in our strong economic growth and trade performance, increased employment and falling unemployment. However, there is no room for complacency.
The ranking is also a reminder of the intense global competition we face for exports and inward investment. Areas for focus, are evident in relation to Infrastructure (34th), Financial system (37th) and ICT adoption (44th). The Government is strongly committed to addressing current infrastructure deficiencies as underlined by the substantial increase in capital investment under the National Planning Framework (NFP) alongside the ten- year National Development Plan (NDP). The €300m long-term Future Growth Loan Scheme announced in Budget 2019 will improve the availability of funding by providing businesses the opportunity to borrow for up to ten years to support capital investment. Budget 2019 also allocated additional funding for my Department to boost business productivity, e.g. doubling of the Retail Online Pilot Scheme to €1.25m and awarding an additional €2.75m to Enterprise Ireland for its SME Regional Innovation and Technology Clusters Programme.
Global uncertainty and Brexit has underlined the importance of building competitive advantage and generating an uplift in enterprise export competitiveness to secure sustainable jobs and growth. Ensuring enterprise stays at the forefront of innovative activity is vital to deepening the resilience of our enterprise base and necessary for success in global markets, which for a small open economy like Ireland, is necessary for creating sustainable growth. Building the foundations of future growth means we must further enhance the competitiveness of our business environment. We must continue to invest in our infrastructure and talent base and harness the benefits from trade and the Single Market.
My officials and the National Competitiveness Council will establish what actions we can take to further improve our competitiveness, particularly in the areas where we are lagging competitors. The NCC will issue recommendations in its forthcoming 2018 Competitiveness Challenge report.
In addition, the Future Jobs Initiative - which is being led by my Department and the Department of An Taoiseach and which will be published in early 2019, will have a strong focus on improving productivity in the economy and its competitiveness.
