By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Danny McCoy, CEO, Ibec.
Ibec CEO Danny McCoy today called for increased capital investment in Ireland to offset rising competitiveness threat.
Ibec CEO Danny McCoy, speaking at the annual Ibec Business Leaders Conference today, called for increased capital investment in Ireland to offset rising competitiveness threat.
Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, has stressed the need for policymakers to adapt to the globalised nature of the Irish economy in order to sustainably manage future growth and retain competitiveness.
Addressing delegates at the 2018 edition of the Ibec Business Leaders Conference, Ibec CEO Danny McCoy outlined: “Disposable income in Ireland is rising by over 5% per annum and with consumer price inflation flat, purchasing power has never been greater in the history of the State.
“But while lots of good things are happening, the economy is very quickly experiencing significant competitiveness erosion. We are burning our way through our competitiveness in a way that is more severe than during the Celtic Tiger era. It is happening in the form of wage demand pressures and in the form of rents.
“With the rise of the intangible economy, Ireland has found a resource that is much more valuable than oil. The intellectual capital on corporate balance sheets is eminently renewable and positions Ireland at the frontier of this type of globalisation.
“As a business community we have to get the message across that Ireland needs to appropriately use the largess of the intangible economy for long-term productive and sustainable activity in areas like education, housing and infrastructure.”
Also at the conference was keynote speaker Professor Jonathan Haskel (pictured below), author of “Capitalism without Capital: The Rise of the Intangible Economy“.
