Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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109. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he remains satisfied regarding the competitiveness of the Irish economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3497/14]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland is rated highly internationally as one of the best countries in the world in which to do business, and we have built a strong competitive basis on which to compete on global markets. Ireland has moved up to 17^th place in the IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook 2013 having being ranked 24^th only 2 years ago, while Ireland is ranked 15^th in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2014 Report and was recently named by Forbes magazine as the “Best Country for Business”.

There are a number of key areas where Ireland tops the various global competitiveness rankings, including in relation to: business impact of rules on foreign direct investment; inflation; FDI and technology transfer; availability of skilled labour; flexibility and adaptability of the labour force; and investment incentives.

While Ireland’s competitiveness has improved in recent years, we must continue to do more, to ensure that these competitiveness gains are not eroded as the economy begins to recover and that we continue to address the structural imbalances which had built up over the lifetime of the previous Government. Through the Action Plans for Jobs in 2012 and 2013, the Government has focussed on measures aimed at restoring our competitiveness position and creating a supportive environment for businesses operating in Ireland. The implementation of these actions, combined with the Government’s exit from the Troika programme and its return to international funding markets, will play a key role in improving our competitiveness further and realising our ambition of making Ireland the best small country in which to do business. I am currently finalising the 2014 Action Plan for Jobs on behalf of the Government, which will build on the progress made in recent years and will include further measures aimed at improving our competitiveness performance.