Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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6. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when it is envisaged that a new whole-of-government action plan on competitiveness and productivity will be finalised in line with the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21913/25]

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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When is it envisaged that a whole-of-government action plan on competitiveness and productivity will be finalised in line with the programme for Government? As the Minister knows, there is obviously a lot of news happening, some of which has just been discussed, in respect of the different issues with the economy. Will he go through that?

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. Ireland is currently a strong competitive global economy. This performance is reflected in our exceptionally strong economic performance in recent years. However, the international context is rapidly changing and we recognise, as do many businesses, where our indigenous and foreign direct investment, FDI, sector are concerned, that they are facing increased challenges.

In recognition of these challenges facing Ireland, the current programme for Government committed to the publication of a new whole-of-government action plan for competitiveness and productivity by January 2026. The Government has, however, accelerated this timeline, with a draft of the plan to be considered by Ministers at a competitiveness summit in July. This plan will cover industrial policy, reducing the cost and regulatory burden on business, investing in infrastructure, digital regulation and reform, energy reform, international trade and research and development and innovation.

Over the coming weeks, the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council will finalise and submit its Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2025 report to Government. This work will feed into the development of the action plan. Alongside this, my Department is undertaking consultation with stakeholders, including other Government Departments, to ensure that the action plan is evidence based and reflects the issues impacting Ireland’s competitiveness.

Given the heightened level of international uncertainty, the overarching objective of the action plan will be to focus on matters within our control by way of policy changes that can make the domestic economy more competitive and resilient to shocks. That is one of the critical issues we were, as a Government, very much aware of. We are the most competitive economy in the eurozone and fourth under the Yearbook of International Organizations but our infrastructure offering is coming under pressure. We need significant investment in energy capacity in the future. We need to ensure our family businesses are operating at the lowest cost base possible and also bring the Draghi report to the heart of government in a European context where we see the new competitive compass which provides a huge amount of opportunity to cement industries here in our economy.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. It is great the timeline has been brought forward. The Minister is conscious of time, no more than myself, and therefore, it is a real positive that July is the new date. While the Minister and his team are doing significant work, there are challenges. As someone who has worked as an accountant with both large Irish multinationals and many smaller businesses, I deeply understand the difficulties businesses face and how marginal changes in costs, such as some of those costs we have seen, or indeed regulation, can tip the scales, especially in sectors where Ireland needs to compete globally.

Something of which I am very conscious is the growing concern locally in Leixlip about the recent reports of possible job cuts at Intel, not just in Ireland but across the company worldwide. This site has been a cornerstone of high-value employment and innovation in Ireland for decades. Any uncertainty around its future is felt far beyond the gates of the campus. It will be felt as far away as Mullingar and all those other places. It impacts local businesses, local schools and everything else. This is a key focus of mine.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. He has been to the forefront in engaging with me in connection with Intel and it being significant in his locality. While I note comments by its chief executive, Intel’s Fab 24 is the most advanced manufacturing facility in Europe. We in Ireland are proud to have Intel here. As a Government, we will do everything we can to support it into the future. The new 7 nanometer, nm, chip it manufactures there is the lowest chip in Europe.

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In the wider context, at this point, we have only 8% of the market share in semiconductors. If we look at our economy advancing across products like fridges, phones and electric vehicles silicon chips are everywhere. I see a very bright future for Intel and we will work very closely with it. As the Deputy quite rightly pointed out, it is so important we get our competitive action plan right to the heart of Government by July. We have now established a small-business unit in the Department to make sure we are protecting family businesses, with which I know the Deputy has worked closely in his profession as an accountant. We are very focused on reducing costs, sustaining businesses to keep them viable and keeping good conditions for workers.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister. Intel's situation underscores how crucial it is that we address the systemic issues. In other Departments, we have things like planning delays, which can cause uncertainty. Energy prices, which the Minister alluded to earlier, are a key issue not only for small businesses but also for very large businesses like Intel. Energy prices are above many EU rates, so that is something of which we have to be very conscious. We all know that we have to speed up infrastructure delivery and I know that it is a significant part of the Government's plan in the next four years. There has been real focus on that.

We must also factor in other issues such as cybersecurity threats and the resilience of supply chains. I raise these points not as a criticism but as a colleague who wants to work with the Minister to ensure that Ireland remains a top-tier business destination for investment and innovation. As a newly elected TD, I want to work with the Minister and do the best I can. We can work on all of these issues.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Ged Nash, for doing the swap and for facilitating that this morning.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Neville. He is quite right to point out those key areas. As a Government, we are very committed to unblocking so many of the challenges to infrastructure delivery. The Deputy will see the decisions made by Cabinet in that regard. Commencing the planning Act will be key and central to delivering that pipeline. There are huge opportunities here, as I mentioned, through the Draghi report and the European Commission's competitive compass. For many companies, regulation is a problem. We are bringing through the response to the Omnibus Proposal and the corporate sustainability reporting directive, CSRD, which will take about 80% of smaller companies outside of the scope. That is important in terms of a regulatory response that we have proportionate regulation for many of our SMEs. The small business unit will yield significant results as well.

The Deputy is quite right about energy. We have to face up to the fact that in the next decade we will need more investment in our grid than we have since its creation. This will be very significant in the context of the review of the national development plan. AI and generative AI requires about 2% of worldwide energy production. It is a huge energy user. As an economy, Ireland has to ensure that it has the infrastructure to support and underwrite the level of employment and the high-quality jobs in the economy that the Deputy is quite rightly fighting for.