Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Despite intense competition, Ireland’s competitiveness performance remains positive. Ireland moved from 16th in 2015 to sixth in 2017 in the Institute for Management Development World Competitiveness Yearbook. In addition, the World Bank’s most recent Doing Business 2018 report shows Ireland is now ranked 17th out of 190 countries, an improvement of one place on last year.

Our improved performance is reflected in strong employment growth across sectors and regions. We have over 2.2 million people at work and our unemployment rate is down to 6.1%. Agency-supported companies now employ over 400,000 people throughout Ireland. The strong performance of clients supported by the enterprise agencies in winning exports and investment, market share and job creation in the face of intense global competition is impressive and reflects the competitiveness of the environment in which to do business.

However, there is no room for complacency. We need to continue to improve our competitiveness and remain vigilant to the very significant challenges in the external environment, particularly Brexit. In addition, the productivity performance of many Irish-owned enterprises is weak and not enough enterprises are engaging in innovation. We have a number of supports available to them in that respect.

Competition for FDI remains intense. Ireland has many strengths when it comes to attracting FDI. We score highly on criteria such as investment incentives, labour productivity, and the adaptability and ability of talent. While we have a proven track record in attracting and sustaining FDI, continued success cannot be taken for granted. Our capacity to continue winning such new investment despite geopolitical changes and intense competition will be aided by the underlying strengths of our FDI offering.

As Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, my objective is to create the best possible environment for enterprise, entrepreneurship, innovation and investment across all regions. The immediate challenge for Ireland is to ensure growth is sustainable, that enterprises are resilient and that we continue to grow Irish enterprises and attract foreign direct investment. We are taking steps to ensure the economy is resilient at sectoral and firm level to deal with imminent competitiveness challenges and to build further on the progress we have made. That is why we are continually examining how we can improve on factors that are crucial to fostering further investment here, including our cost base, infrastructure, availability of talent and innovation.

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Enterprise 2025 Renewed, which I launched last month, placed an increased emphasis on developing Irish-owned enterprises. There is a strong focus on taking action that will embed resilience in our enterprise base. We are placing a spotlight on innovation and on skills. Enterprise Ireland places a strong emphasis on competitiveness. It supports exporting enterprises with initiatives in Lean, RD&I and management development. The agency helps enterprises to take a strategic approach to understanding and responding to potential implications arising from Brexit and assists them to enter into new markets and diversify their export base. The local enterprise offices offer a suite of supports to enhance the competitiveness of small and micro-enterprises. Initiatives include mentoring, innovation vouchers, Lean Start and access to a Brexit diagnostic and guidance.

My officials and I, as well as the National Competitiveness Council, remain focused on competitiveness, an agenda that requires cross-Government commitment to continue to develop and implement actions to enhance national competitiveness.

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