While we have been very successful at attracting and developing an export sector which has productivity levels and growth rates up there with the best in the world, the same cannot be said for some of our sheltered sectors. The difference is not the brains or talent of those involved but their exposure to competition. Given our small home market, our internationally traded sector has to compete with the best in Europe and the world, while our sheltered sector is frequently protected from real competition by way of archaic regulations or cosy cartels. That is the reason there is such a strong focus on competition and regulatory reform in both the programme for Government and the partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress.