Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 78: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the steps she has taken or proposes to take to improve the competitiveness of Irish goods and services traded domestically or on world markets; if she is satisfied that sufficient provision has been made or is expected to be made to ensure the future employment prospects of this economy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44926/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Government policy remains firmly focused on growing competitiveness and building on the success that has already been achieved by both indigenous and foreign-owned firms competing on world markets. We are also committed to promoting competition, raising consumer awareness and tackling administrative burdens in order to drive competition for goods and services traded domestically.

Enhancing productivity growth is the cornerstone of our competitiveness. The Enterprise Development Agencies under my Department (SFI, EI, IDA and CCEBs) have a capital allocation of €495 million in 2009, which will be spent on productivity enhancing investments such as R&D, innovation, better use of ICT, and training and management development. In addition, part of our long term strategy for achieving productivity improvements is to enhance the skills of the Irish workforce, as set out in the National Skills Strategy.

In the shorter term, the next few years can be seen as a period of opportunity as we seek to re-situate ourselves in terms of our national competitiveness, and to place ourselves in the optimal position to benefit from the eventual upturn in the international economy as well as from our longer-term investments.

IDA Ireland has continued to be successful in attracting new investment to Ireland, even in the current economic climate. Since the beginning of November alone, it has made announcements which are expected to provide a total of 1,000 new jobs in a variety of sectors, across a range of skills (such as manufacturing, R&D and European Headquarters operations) and spread throughout the country.

We are working consistently and successfully to build Irish exports in world markets. For example, contracts worth €40 million in new export sales have been signed by Irish companies during the recent Enterprise Ireland trade mission which the Tánaiste led to the United Arab Emirates.

In order to sustain and grow the manufacturing sector, Irish based manufacturing enterprises will be encouraged and assisted to continue the progression to high value added sectors and activities, and continue to increase productivity through investments in human capital, technology and innovation. We intend to establish shortly a new High Level Manufacturing Forum to progress the recommendations contained in the Manufacturing Report published last April and recently agreed by the Social Partners.

In the future, the major impetus for growth will come from expansion of our services sectors. Last September, the Tánaiste launched the report of the Services Strategy Group, "Catching the Wave: A Services Strategy for Ireland". Ireland is already the 10th highest exporter of services in the world. This report will guide the development of our services policies and strategy into the future, with a view to fully exploiting the opportunities that this sector presents. In particular, the strategy will focus on maximizing the performance of companies that are already active on export markets, on encouraging companies that are currently only trading locally to expand their markets abroad, and on fostering a new breed of start-up services companies with exporting potential. My Department is working in conjunction with other Departments to progress the implementation of these recommendations.

While any job losses are regrettable, and are deeply distressing for those concerned, we must remember that we still have a historically high number of people at work today compared to a decade ago — over 2 million — and that we are still creating high-value jobs across the economy.

Through our pro-enterprise policies, ongoing investment in critical infrastructure under the NDP, our low taxes on business and workers and our balanced regulatory regime, the government are committed to ensuring that we continue to build an environment for enterprise that remains among the most favourable in the world.