Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 November 2018
103. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation her views on Ireland's continued fall in the rankings of an organisation (details supplied) for the ease of doing business across 190 economies. [47656/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraImproving 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 investment in the country.
The World Bank Ease of Doing Business 2019 report compares the ‘ease of doing’ business in 190 economies using quantitative indicators. The report assesses the impact of 11 areas of business regulation: starting a business; dealing with construction permits; getting electricity; registering property; getting credit; protecting minority investors; paying taxes; trading across borders; enforcing contracts; resolving insolvency; and, labour market regulation.
In the latest report, Ireland achieved a high score of almost 79, which compares favourably with the top performing economy in the 2019 report, New Zealand, which achieved an absolute score of 86.5.
Ireland’s score means that it is the 23rd highest ranked economy in the world, the 8th highest ranked in the EU, and the 5th highest ranked in the Euro Area. Ireland’s continued high score, and high ranking, in the ease of doing business report is also reflected in Ireland’s strong economic growth, our trade performance, and the falling unemployment figures.
Looking at a more granular breakdown of the ease of doing business score, Ireland ranked highly in certain indicators, including ‘paying taxes’ (4th), ‘starting a business’ (10th), and ‘protecting minority investors’ (15th).
However, there is no room for complacency. The ranking is also a reminder of the intense global competition Ireland faces for exports and inward investment. Areas for focus are highlighted in other indicators, including ‘getting electricity’ (43rd), ‘trading across borders’ (52nd), and ‘enforcing contracts’ (102nd). Though the report did note that Ireland had made enforcing contracts easier by introducing a consolidated law on voluntary mediation.
Global uncertainty and Brexit has underlined the importance of ensuring strong productivity growth in Irish-based industries, a competitive advantage vis-à-vis our trading partners, 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 that should take into account the World Bank ease of doing business ranking.
My officials and the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) will establish what actions we can take to further improve our competitiveness, particularly in the areas where we are lagging competitors. The NCC will advise Government on specific actions to take 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, to be published in early 2019 – will have a strong focus on improving productivity in the economy and its competitiveness.
