Latest news with #competitiveness
BreakingNews.ie
3 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Ireland losing ground to Europe and US due to high energy costs, IDA says
The IDA said Ireland was losing ground to other EU countries and the United States because of the high cost of energy. In a series of briefings for the government, the investment agency said strong security of power supply was 'imperative' for enticing companies into Ireland. Advertisement It said the operating environment for foreign direct investment was becoming more difficult, more aggressive, and with a 'relentless focus on competitiveness.' The IDA briefing said that traditional drivers of investment like market access, tax, and talent were still important. However, it added: 'New drivers such as digital/green, subsidies/incentives, and friendly nation status make the environment more complex. 'Adding to the challenge for IDA in sustaining/winning investments are constraints to the carrying capacity of Ireland's economy and utilities - which are causing significant delay, backlogs and reputation risks to winning new investments.' Advertisement The briefings were prepared last summer for the Department of the Environment as the investment agency warned Ireland's financial position was heavily dependent on foreign direct investment (FDI). They said any reduction in FDI would lead to a significant reduction in tax revenues. It said energy prices needed to decrease and become much more competitive as Ireland looked to attract in semiconductor and life sciences investment. One briefing said: 'Ireland is not sufficiently competitive with most other EU locations or the US.' Advertisement It said a significant increase in electricity supply was urgently needed to meet a sizable growth in demand from data centres, and other sectors. A separate briefing said uncertainty over connections to the national grid for data centres was 'of concern.' Ireland Mother of Irish soldier Sean Rooney gets permissio... Read More It said: 'With respect to overall energy connection policy, there needs to be a transitional period for data centres (and enterprise in general) to achieve decarbonisation and net zero.' The briefing said the government should look to tap into the expertise of data centre operators around opportunities for innovation. The IDA also said there was a risk to Ireland's offshore renewable energy industry which was 'underpinned by the large data centre demand and potential demand.' It added: 'A slowdown or cessation in data centre investment could adversely affect the economics for offshore wind developers, which in turn could impact the country's ambition and targets in renewable energy development and climate action.'
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Ireland losing ground to US and Europe, IDA warns
The IDA said Ireland was losing ground to other EU countries and the United States because of the high cost of energy. In a series of briefings for the Government, the investment agency said strong security of power supply was 'imperative' for enticing companies into Ireland. It said the operating environment for foreign direct investment was becoming more difficult, more aggressive, and with a 'relentless focus on competitiveness.' The IDA briefing said that traditional drivers of investment like market access, tax, and talent were still important. READ MORE [ IDA chief plays down threat to Ireland from Trump's tax move Opens in new window ] However, it added: 'New drivers such as digital/green, subsidies/incentives, and friendly nation status make the environment more complex. 'Adding to the challenge for IDA in sustaining/winning investments are constraints to the carrying capacity of Ireland's economy and utilities - which are causing significant delay, backlogs and reputation risks to winning new investments.' The briefings were prepared last summer for the Department of the Environment as the investment agency warned Ireland's financial position was heavily dependent on foreign direct investment (FDI). They said any reduction in FDI would lead to a significant reduction in tax revenues. It said energy prices needed to decrease and become much more competitive as Ireland looked to attract in semiconductor and life sciences investment. One briefing said: 'Ireland is not sufficiently competitive with most other EU locations or the US.' It said a significant increase in electricity supply was urgently needed to meet a sizable growth in demand from data centres, and other sectors. A separate briefing said uncertainty over connections to the national grid for data centres was 'of concern.' It said: 'With respect to overall energy connection policy, there needs to be a transitional period for data centres (and enterprise in general) to achieve decarbonisation and net zero.' The briefing said the government should look to tap into the expertise of data centre operators around opportunities for innovation. The IDA also said there was a risk to Ireland's offshore renewable energy industry which was 'underpinned by the large data centre demand and potential demand.' It added: 'A slowdown or cessation in data centre investment could adversely affect the economics for offshore wind developers, which in turn could impact the country's ambition and targets in renewable energy development and climate action.'
E&E News
22-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Musk huddles with Energy and Commerce Republicans
Elon Musk was meeting with House Energy and Commerce Republicans on Thursday morning to discuss energy issues and artificial intelligence, according to a person with direct knowledge of the session. It comes a day after the head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency initiative met with Senate Republicans — many of them on the Commerce Committee — on similar issues, including bolstering competitiveness with China. Musk has taken a step back from his Trump administration duties in recent weeks after leading a major slashing of federal agencies. Advertisement Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) has taken a keen interest in AI — including proposing a 10-year moratorium on state and local regulation of AI models in his portion of Republicans' megabill that passed the House on Thursday morning, and honing in on ways to tackle the technology's high level of energy use.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EU targets business barriers to enhance competitiveness amid US tariffs
BRUSSELS, May 21 (Reuters) - The European Commission set out plans on Wednesday to remove barriers to business within the European Union as part of a push to boost competitiveness and counteract the impact of U.S. tariffs. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that internal EU barriers are equivalent to tariffs of 44% for goods and 110% for services, far higher than the import duties set by U.S. President Donald Trump. The EU executive will make proposals this year and next to encourage businesses to choose Europe and allow smaller companies to scale up by spreading across the bloc. However, it will rely on EU member states themselves to adopt laws and follow recommendations to open up sectors that are dominated by domestic vested interests. The Commission says it is targeting the "terrible ten" barriers, including the limited recognition of other member states' professional qualifications, lack of common standards and fragmented rules on packaging. The Commission will push for greater use of QR codes on labels to allow customers to access product information and act against producers who prevent specific retailers from selling in certain countries. The Commission noted that cross-border trade in services was stagnating, and said it would work to open up the construction, postal, telecoms, energy, transport and financial services sectors. This will include setting guidelines to allow companies to provide services temporarily in another EU country. The Commission will also encourage coalitions of willing EU members to free up regulated professions, such as nursing or mechanics. EU members each regulate on average 212 professions, in some cases requiring fees, meaning that people qualified in one EU country have difficulty moving to work in another. In Germany, up to a third of the workforce is in a regulated profession. The Commission also proposed reduced a range of reporting requirements, such as on data privacy and battery supply chains, to cut 400 million euros ($450 million) of annual costs for the bloc's 38,000 mid-cap companies, with 250 to 750 workers. Current rules discourage growth by treating companies that expand beyond 250 employees as large enterprises with increased compliance obligations. ($1 = 0.8820 euros)
Zawya
21-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
EU targets business barriers to enhance competitiveness amid US tariffs
The European Commission set out plans on Wednesday to remove barriers to business within the European Union as part of a push to boost competitiveness and counteract the impact of U.S. tariffs. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that internal EU barriers are equivalent to tariffs of 44% for goods and 110% for services, far higher than the import duties set by U.S. President Donald Trump. The EU executive will make proposals this year and next to encourage businesses to choose Europe and allow smaller companies to scale up by spreading across the bloc. However, it will rely on EU member states themselves to adopt laws and follow recommendations to open up sectors that are dominated by domestic vested interests. The Commission says it is targeting the "terrible ten" barriers, including the limited recognition of other member states' professional qualifications, lack of common standards and fragmented rules on packaging. The Commission will push for greater use of QR codes on labels to allow customers to access product information and act against producers who prevent specific retailers from selling in certain countries. The Commission noted that cross-border trade in services was stagnating, and said it would work to open up the construction, postal, telecoms, energy, transport and financial services sectors. This will include setting guidelines to allow companies to provide services temporarily in another EU country. The Commission will also encourage coalitions of willing EU members to free up regulated professions, such as nursing or mechanics. EU members each regulate on average 212 professions, in some cases requiring fees, meaning that people qualified in one EU country have difficulty moving to work in another. In Germany, up to a third of the workforce is in a regulated profession. The Commission also proposed reduced a range of reporting requirements, such as on data privacy and battery supply chains, to cut 400 million euros ($450 million) of annual costs for the bloc's 38,000 mid-cap companies, with 250 to 750 workers. Current rules discourage growth by treating companies that expand beyond 250 employees as large enterprises with increased compliance obligations. ($1 = 0.8820 euros)
