Report launch: The Irish economy will have to be a world leader in specific sectors if it hopes to prosper in the global economy, Mr Eoin O'Driscoll, chairman of the Enterprise Strategy Group, said yesterday.
At a press conference to launch its report, Mr O'Driscoll said that "in the globalised economy, being second is not good enough".
"There is no point in being average; there is no point in being as good as the best in Europe. You have to go for global leadership."
He said Ireland needed to focus on sectors or niches. "That is not about picking winners; that's identifying areas where we are or can be world class. This can emerge from many sources."
Such niches could emerge from natural capability like food in Ireland's case, from university research or a concentration in a specific industry, according to Mr O'Driscoll.
"The important thing we believe is that, once we identify areas where we are or can be significant players, then what we need to do is we need to build world-class capabilities in understanding the markets for those areas, and applying technologies to those areas."
Describing the last 10 years as "an incredible decade" in terms of jobs and economic growth, Mr O'Driscoll said there was still a significant sectoral imbalance in the Irish economy which needed to be addressed.
While Ireland was a world-class leader in operations and manufacturing, it lagged behind internationally in terms of the internationally-traded services sector, including sales and marketing and research and development, where expenditure was half of the European average.
"We believe that this is a key shift we have to make in terms of building a balanced profile. This is not about choosing between different sectors of the economy; this is about making sure we realise the potential of all."
Mr O'Driscoll believed there were "very significant opportunities" in area of services.
"For example, in education services. International education services is a $30 billion market. We've got lots of strengths in that we're English-speaking; we've got a good reputation for education."
With 7 per cent of the Irish student population coming from outside the EU, compared with 15 per cent in the US, he believed there was scope for major growth in this sector.
Welcoming the report, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney said it was now 12 years since the Culliton report, the last major report on Irish industrial and enterprise policy.
Although the Irish economy had performed "extraordinarily well over the last decade", she believed there were "major challenges ahead".
"This report helps to provide us with a road map at Government level as to how we could hope to begin to tackle some of those challenges."
She said that a small group of senior civil servants would study the report over the summer, and would be reporting to the Government in September, at which time Ministers would make a decision on the implementation of the 52 recommendations.
Ms Harney said the future success of enterprise and industrial policy was crucial for wider society.
"Social inclusion depends on economic success. Social inclusion and economic growth are not mutually-exclusive goals. They are very much compatible.
"The more resources we create, the more we have for education, for health, for social welfare for infrastructural spending.
"If we don't generate the wealth, if we don't generate the economic growth, then we limit the resources we have to do all of the things we want to see done in a caring and civilised country like this."
She believed Ireland had "the capacity to meet the challenge", adding that the Government would also "display the agility that is required of it" in relation to the recommendations in the report.