Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

One of the challenges is presented by competitiveness. Since 2009 we have seen a 7% improvement in our unit labour cost relative to the remainder in the eurozone. This is one of the reasons the IDA and Enterprise Ireland have been more successful in attracting jobs; our export performance figure has increased by 7% this year, while productivity in the export sector has increased by 12% in a short period. In listening to some Senators' contributions one would be forgiven for assuming there was nothing positive to be said about Ireland or its economy. Ireland is ranked first under the heading of corporate taxes, fourth in respect of the availability of skilled labour, fourth in being open to new ideas, sixth in terms of labour productivity, seventh in the availability of financial skills and seventh in respect of the flexibility and adaptability of people.