Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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38. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on productivity and competitiveness in the domestic economy; his plans to address issues in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30129/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Institute for Management Development (IMD)’s World Competitiveness Yearbook 2024 ranks Ireland as the most competitive country in the euro area and the 4th most competitive economy in the world (out of 67 economies), a decline from 2nd position last year. Ireland has consistently been placed in the Top 20 most competitive economies globally since 2012.

Ireland’s strong economic growth, our highly skilled workforce, and our success in attracting inward investment in high value-added economic sectors has seen us ranked highly in independent global competitiveness rankings. Strong activity in these high-value added sectors has contributed to Ireland’s productivity performance in recent years – with Ireland having the highest labour productivity in the EU In Q4 2023. However, there are concerns that our success in these areas is masking issues in others. For example, the productivity performance of the domestic sector is not as strong. Our high-cost position also stands out to me as a concern – the fact that Irish prices are 42% higher than the EU average, in particular.

While our low level of unemployment reflects a strong labour market, in combination with high costs, it points to an economy operating at capacity. Constraints in the labour market impact on the delivery of housing, water and energy infrastructure; which in turn limits supply and drives prices higher again.

Each year, the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) prepares and submits to the Taoiseach and the Government, through my Department, an annual report – Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge – outlining the challenges to Ireland’s competitiveness and productivity over the medium to long-term, and the policy responses required to meet them. The 2024 Challenge report is being finalised at present for publication. Once completed, I look forward to reviewing it and considering its recommendations and I will bring this to Government in due course.