The latest World Economic Forum report ranked Ireland number 24 in the Global Competitiveness Rankings.
Ireland is now the 8th most competitive country in the Eurozone, and 11th in the EU. Ireland’s competitiveness continues to improve from 2011’s 29th place rankings. Ireland was 5th in 2001.
Jobs minister Richard Bruton said improving competitiveness has been the focus of the economic and jobs recovery since 2011.
“We have been trying to rebuild a new economy based on exports and competitiveness, to replace the failed model based on property and debt which collapsed. We have had some success in this, with competitiveness slowly climbing and record results for sales and employment by exporting companies who depend on that competitiveness. Well over 40,000 extra jobs have been created in those companies since we launched the Action Plan for Jobs three years ago," he said.
“Now as recovery begins to bed in, we must make sure that we don’t lose our focus on competitiveness. Today’s report provides a timely reminder that while our performance remains good, major challenges remain. Through continued strong implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs and the competitiveness structures built into it I am convinced that we can continue the strong performance of recent years on this front”.
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Ireland’s growth is said to be a result of improved macro-economic conditions and a more stable fiscal performance.
Ireland performs well in health, primary education and labour and goods market efficiency. Infrastructure, health, primary education and labour market efficiency are areas that require work. Irealnd is ranked between Austria at 23rd place, and Saudi Arabia at 25th place.
The WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report assesses factors driving productivity and prosperity in 140 countries. The WEF states the importance of competitiveness for economic prosperity. Competitiveness is defined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. The ranking is determined by 12 factors including education, innovation and infrastructure.
