Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 96 and 121 together.

Every economy of the developed world experiences flows of capital as firms make adjustments to their operations and decide where to locate different aspects of their value chain.

The National Competitiveness Council in its most recent report, Ireland's Competitiveness Challenge, has made a number of recommendations aimed at improving our overall competitiveness. It outlines policy recommendations across the following areas: labour force; social capital; public income and expenditure; regulatory environment; infrastructure; productivity of Irish-based enterprise; Ireland's education system; innovation, research and development; costs of doing business in Ireland; and energy.

The Government is committed to acting on the recommendations of the National Competitiveness Council, which are designed to stimulate productivity growth and improve our ability to sell goods and services abroad. For example, the National Development Plan 2007-13 proposes a wide range of investments which will improve productivity by removing infrastructural bottlenecks that increase costs. It will enhance the skills of graduates and people already in the labour market, and will create a more supportive environment for enterprises in developing new products and services. The strategy for science technology and innovation will drive research and development performance and underpin long term competitiveness.

In summary, the Government recognizes the need to stimulate productivity growth and improve our ability to sell goods and services abroad. A range of strategies is now in place to assist and I am confident that we can build on our past achievement while laying the pathways for growth and higher productivity in the future.

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