Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"—commends the Government on the successful management of the economy which has placed Ireland in 3rd place globally in terms of job creation for our population size. Ireland is 8th in the world in terms of ease of doing business and is in the top five for the strength of our education and research system;

acknowledges that this performance has ensured rising living standards and improved quality of life for our citizens;

supports in particular the continuing strong performance in employment creation, solid management of the public finances, investment in infrastructure in the context of the National Development Plan and rate of inward investment;

notes the number of initiatives taken by Government to strengthen national competitiveness and which will underpin future economic growth including the implementation of the recommendations of the Small Business Forum, the Better Regulation Forum, the Expert Group on Future Skills, and the Enterprise Strategy Group, the High Level Group on Manufacturing;

recognises the Government's commitment to tackling inflation in areas where it has direct influence;

supports the Government's commitment to make Ireland a leading knowledge and innovation economy and the recent achievement of the Strategy for Science technology and Innovation which will strengthen further our performance taking into account the emergence of competition from the new and emerging economies including India and China; and

welcomes the reports of the National Competitiveness Council which recognise Ireland's remarkable economic progress over the past 15 years that has given us the resources to further enhance and strengthen national competitiveness."

I welcome this timely debate on the issue of economic competitiveness because it addresses a fundamental issue for our country. This is the first generation of Irish people to have the opportunity to work and build a prosperous future in their own country because we have embraced the opportunity of competing in the international economy. Success has been built and sustained and today we have an economy of which we can be proud. Ireland is a magnet for many across Europe who seek opportunity.

To succeed we must be competitive but this House will make itself marginal in meeting the challenge of competitiveness if it refuses to acknowledge progress where it is evident or to be willing to take tough economic and fiscal decisions where they are necessary. Competitiveness is a serious and complex issue which deserves a serious debate which rises above the sort of opportunism and selective use of statistics which has come to characterise Fine Gael's use of Private Members' time.

One of the more consistent themes of the last decade has been the refusal of Fine Gael to acknowledge any progress and for it to ignore the economy until it sees an opportunity to predict its imminent collapse.

See this speech in context