Building Ireland's Smart Economy

The Irish Government’s recovery strategy, ‘Building Ireland’s Smart Economy – A Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal’, was produced in December 2008 and outlines its programme for medium-term economic recovery based around the concept of the Smart Economy.

A document, Summary of Progress and Future Priorities for the Smart Economy, was published in March 2010.

Also in March 2010, the Government published Building Ireland's Smart Economy - Progress Report, which highlights key headline progress from the wide range of policy actions and developments undertaken as part of the overall recovery strategy.

The Smart Economy Framework is centred on five key action areas:

1.         Securing the Enterprise Economy and Restoring Competitiveness

2.         Building the Ideas Economy – Creating ‘The Innovation Island’

3.         Enhancing the Environment and Securing Energy Supplies

4.         Investing in Critical Infrastructure

5.         Efficient and Effective Public Services and Smart Regulation

Knowledge is the key source of competitive advantage in today’s advanced economies.  That’s why the Government’s Smart Economy strategy is about boosting productivity and performance through better use of knowledge.

Productivity is about making the most of available resources, combining them in new ways and creating new sources of value.  It is the key driver of economic performance and sustainability.

This means new skills, new ways of working and an openness to change across all sectors of the economy.

Along with other advanced economies, Ireland faces new challenges in conserving natural resources, protecting the environment and planning sensibly for longer life expectancies.

That’s why a smarter economy is also a more sustainable economy – characterised not least by the capacity to adapt quickly to changing circumstances.

Other documents which further elaborate the policy direction include Technology Actions to Support the Smart Economy, published in July 2009, the report on the Global Irish Economic Forum, in September 2009 and its Progress Report, published in February 2010, the report on Developing the Green Economy in Ireland, December 2009 and the Report of the Innovation Taskforce, published in March 2010.

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