Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The number of Irish exporting firms is dwarfed by the number of Danish or Austrian exporting firms. We have a very low base with regard to this sector of the economy. The problem I have with competitiveness is that every time I mention it in this Chamber, the Government talks labour costs and taxation. They are not the areas in which to look for competitiveness. Even the chief executive of ISME, Mark Fielding, has commented that energy, insurance, local charges and legal fees are all higher in this State than in our European counterparts. This is the major difficulty local businesses will say they have with regard to staying in business. There is a range of talent cost in this State on which the Government is not focusing. We are talking about these particular costs for five years. The export plans of this State will never come to fruition until the Government deals with them properly.

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