Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

We are already involved in setting up the process by which implementation is taking place. Increasing our competitiveness by reducing costs, stabilising the public finances and preparing for global recovery are not enough to ensure we return to economic growth. Increasing productivity and developing new ways to get a higher quality and quantity of output of goods and services from each unit of input is the key driver of economic performance and sustainability. Innovation in the production and use of ideas, technologies and processes, is important in this context because it is the key driver of productivity. This is what will inform all of the actions of the various Departments in so far as these recommendations affect them.

The report was launched last month and was used by all Ministers during their St. Patrick's Day trips around the world as part of their promotion of the country. We are now in the process of setting up the committee that will monitor implementation of the report. Obviously, the first responsibility lies with the Departments and agencies to whom these recommendations refer. None of the recommendations of which I am aware relate to implementation within the first month. They relate to rearranging how matters are organised, how issues are dealt with by the IDA and Enterprise Ireland in terms of how they interface with technology companies. There are fiscal issues which require to be dealt with in due course in the context of financial provisions by way of Finance Bills, which is the way these matters have always been dealt with down through the years. To suggest otherwise is to seek to be simplistic and rather puerile about what is involved.

Under the seventh programme the Commissioner, Ms Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, will continue to liaise with the relevant Departments. It will be a matter for Ireland to apply. The Commissioner must consider the matter in the wider European interest.

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