Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the extent to which he monitors the costs to industry here as compared to other jurisdictions; the action he has taken on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45741/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) monitors costs and other competitiveness issues through its suite of reports, including its annual "Competitiveness Report - Benchmarking Ireland's Performance" and regular reports on "Costs of Doing Business in Ireland". These reports compare Ireland's competitiveness with many of its closest trading partners and competitors. The NCC is an independent body, but the Secretariat is provided by Forfás, which is under the remit of my Department.

The 2010 Competitiveness Report found that, since January 2008, Ireland has regained some of the competitiveness it had lost in recent years, as domestic inflation remained below that of our main trading partners and as the Euro weakened, helping exports.

The most recent report on "Costs of Doing Business in Ireland", published in July this year, analysed Ireland's relative cost competitiveness across four key business inputs – labour, property, utilities and business services. It also looked at the broader cost environment that indirectly impacts on the cost of doing business here. The report highlighted tangible improvements in the competitiveness of unit labour costs, and significant falls in commercial property costs and industrial electricity costs.

While there has been a welcome improvement in Ireland's cost competitiveness, there is still room for improvement. The National Recovery Plan, which was published on 24th November, provides a blueprint for a return to sustainable economic growth and includes actions which the Government will take to further reduce costs for business across the economy. The Plan sets out specific measures which will be taken to cut costs in relation to labour, energy, property rental, professional fees and other areas.

Although comparing the costs of doing business is an important and useful exercise, it should be borne in mind that cost competitiveness is only one aspect of overall competitiveness. The availability of skilled labour, good quality infrastructure and a wide variety of other factors will ultimately determine the ability of a particular country to compete successfully in world markets. The National Recovery Plan takes cognisance of these factors by prioritising the areas which will lead to sustainable economic growth and competitiveness for Ireland.