Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 2016, Ireland moved from 16th to seventh in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, and from 24th to 23rd in the 2016 World Economic Forum, WEF, Global Competitiveness Report. The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business report shows Ireland is ranked 18th, ahead of the UK in terms of ease of starting a business and paying tax but behind in the overall rankings.

Ireland's improved competitiveness performance has been central to employment growth. Brexit means we must do more to enhance our attractiveness as a location to start and locate a business. The 2017 Action Plan for Jobs sets a target to achieve a top five global competitiveness ranking based on the IMD measure by 2020. The plan sets out a range of actions to further enhance competitiveness and help achieve this objective.

The National Competitiveness Council has also undertaken a benchmarking exercise comparing Irish and UK competitiveness performance. To improve competitiveness, we must consolidate Ireland's traditional strengths, such as talent, productivity and export competitiveness, and address areas such as infrastructure where we lag behind other countries.

As Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, my focus is on ensuring Ireland is a competitive location internationally to establish and run a business. We are stepping up investment in infrastructure. We are driving the implementation of our research strategy, Innovation 2020. We are putting more people on the ground in foreign markets to attract investment and help Irish businesses which export to the UK and help others diversify into new markets.

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