IMD Survey Ranks Ireland Poorly On Infrastructure

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

15 May 2003

Ireland has slipped down the rankings of global competitiveness according to the latest figures compiled by the Swiss business school IMD (International Institute for Management Development), scoring particularly badly in the infrastructure and internet access categories.

Whilst Ireland scored well for corporate tax and investment incentives, overall it slipped to eleventh place, down from ninth place in the last survey. Finland, Singapore and Denmark made up the top three in the survey of countries with a population of less than 20 million.

The survey was split into four categories, with Ireland losing ground in all of them. Of the 29 nations studied, Ireland fared reasonably well in the business and government efficiency categories, being placed sixth and tenth respectively, and was positioned ninth in the economic performance category.

However, with regard to infrastructure, Ireland came a disappointing 18th, scoring especially badly in distribution infrastructure (road and rail networks). In the maintenance and development of infrastructure sub-sections, the RoI was placed 28th out of 29 countries in both cases. It also came bottom of the list with regards to internet access. On the economic front, the only real blight was inflation, with Ireland placed 25th in the league table.

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