Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

Yesterday we heard the bad news of the loss of 785 jobs in Pfizer. We knew the merger of Pfizer and Wyeth in January last year would inevitably lead to some rationalisation and job losses but the extent of the losses came as a surprise. I am taken by the Tánaiste's statement yesterday when she said that Pfizer's decision had nothing to do with the Irish economy. She stated we are in fact much more competitive than we were. However, this is completely and flatly contradicted by the National Competitiveness Council in its report earlier this year when it stated that urgent action is required to support export growth and job creation to ensure a competitive operating environment for businesses to enable exporters to trade successfully in difficult international markets. Energy, wage costs, telecommunications and commercial rates are the issues that have to be tackled. The ESRI has made the same point. It is the extent of the losses which are influenced by the lack of competitiveness and the fall in Ireland's position in the league of competitiveness of export-orientated economies. The Tánaiste is way off the mark on this issue.