Ireland’s competitiveness undermined by regional infrastructure deficits

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  • New data shows that Ireland is ranked as the 9th most competitive economy in the EU.
  • Data shows that addressing infrastructure deficits outside of the Greater Dublin Area could significantly improve Ireland’s competitiveness ranking.
  • The Northern and Western Region underperformed in areas relating to infrastructure, innovation capabilities, market size and business sophistication.

    • The Northern and Western Regional Assembly has launched the 2nd edition of the “Regional Economic Briefing Notes”, with this edition providing a brief update on the European Commission’s 2022 “Regional Competitiveness Index”, which was recently released.
    The purpose of the “Regional Economic Briefing Notes” will be to provide a short summary of the latest regional data releases on the most rural region under Project Ireland 2040 – namely the Northern and Western Region – and to stimulate more detailed discussions and policy interventions on regional development topics.
    The key findings of the European Commission’s “Regional Competitiveness Index” are as follows:

  • New data from the European Commission shows that Ireland is ranked as the 9th most competitive economy in the EU27.
  • Data shows that addressing infrastructure deficits outside of the Greater Dublin Area could improve Ireland’s competitiveness ranking.
  • The Northern and Western Region underperformed in areas relating to infrastructure, innovation capabilities, market size and business sophistication.
  • Of the 234 EU regions examined in the index, the Eastern and Midland Region was ranked 24th, with the Southern Region ranked 90th and the Northern and Western Region ranked 113th.
  • When the EU average is set to an index score of 100, the Eastern and Midland Region recorded an above average infrastructure index score of 115.2, whereas the Northern and Western Region recorded an infrastructure index score of only 34.1.

    • The 2nd edition of the “Regional Economic Briefing Note” can be downloaded below and for any queries on this publication please contact John Daly, Economist with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (jdaly@nwra.ie).