Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the harmonised index of prices across Europe, Ireland’s increase is 1.2% in the past 12 months. That is among the lowest in the EU. They are higher in Denmark, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, the UK, Portugal and Finland. Ireland is controlling administrative costs more effectively than other European countries. I agree with the Deputy that there are areas where we need to continue to attend to competitiveness pressures. In the electricity area, for example, a recent restructuring programme took out cost. The focus in electricity has to be on controllable costs because some elements of electricity pricing are beyond the control of the electricity companies because they are dictated by international fuel prices. There are areas such as property, unit labour costs and professional services where we are making improvements. In the Action Plan for Jobs 2015, we will take on board several recommendations of the National Competitiveness Council.

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