Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
202. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the action he is taking to help increase productivity in indigenous enterprises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30514/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Enterprise, Tourism, and Employment, I fully recognise the importance of improving productivity in Ireland's indigenous enterprises, particularly in a volatile trade environment. To support this goal, my Department published the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity on the 10th of September 2025. The overarching objective of the Action Plan is to maintain and improve Ireland's position as a competitive and productive economy capable of withstanding shocks, building on our strengths and developing our indigenous enterprise base while continuing to attract investment and talent from abroad.
The Plan encompasses six themes containing 85 actions. These include a number of provisions aimed at boosting the productivity of Irelands indigenous SME base. Accountability, monitoring and oversight will all be key to the successful delivery of the actions set out in the Action Plan. Each of the 85 actions is assigned a specific owner and a timeline for implementation. Given that the Action Plan has only been in effect for seven months, the vast majority of actions are regarded as in progress, including for SMEs. Priority Actions for Themes 3 and 4 pertaining to SME scaling and regulation respectively are still ongoing. It is anticipated that these actions will be implemented later in 2026/27.
Just under half of the actions are due for delivery in 2026 – the remaining actions were delivered in 2025 or are scheduled for delivery across 2027 to 2030. It is intended that progress on the implementation of the Action Plan will be discussed as part of the Government’s annual Competitiveness Summit in 2026, with the first implementation report to be submitted for discussion at the Summit.
In terms of monitoring the success of this Action Plan and assessing its strategic impact, including sustained improvements in the productivity of Ireland’s indigenous enterprises, the Government will continue to seek the advice and input of the National Competitiveness and predictivity Council, particularly in benchmarking Ireland’s performance against international peers.
