Feargal Quinn (Independent)

The Government yesterday announced the setting up of an Oireachtas joint committee on competitiveness. I congratulate it on doing so. I was out of the country yesterday, but I read that Ireland is no longer among the top ten most competitive countries in the world. I gather that we have slipped from ninth to eleventh; the European newspapers only gave the top ten countries. I was disappointed to see we were no longer in the top ten, although they gave the bottom ten also and we are a long way from that. If an Oireachtas joint committee is to be set up to deal with this area, we must ensure it works with a degree of professionalism and that it sets deadlines rather than just targets. This is an essential area because it is concerned with our economic development in the coming years and it would be a shame if the joint committee was used to give jobs to party hacks. I hope that will not happen—