We need to stay ahead of the competition

I READ in the business section (Irish Examiner, October 1) that the American Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Joanne Richardson, stated that, despite our current world class reputation as a manufacturing location, we are vulnerable to competition from low-cost countries in the manufacturing area.

I have been to various parts of the EU, the US and Japan for business purposes and, recently, to the Czech Republic.

This was a difficult place to get to, but I thought the trip would be interesting as this was, as countries go, new.

I was travelling well east of Prague by car and still expected to see remnants of the Dubcek era and a country that still had to was just about get to grips with democracy and capitalism this was inaccurate.

I was surrounded by mobile phone billboards and the biggest McDonald's "M" I have ever seen.

We drove on, with not a Skoda in sight; plenty of Audis, BMWs and VWs though.

It became obvious that there is a tidal wave of unrelenting economic progress happening in the Czech Republic. In many aspects it is a win-win situation low service and labour costs and a very modern infrastructure. The road system, for example, is far superior to ours.

For some of the bigger players in the hi-tech industry, this is bargain time.

Later in my trip, I learned hat there is an abundance of unskilled labour which is continually topped up by Slovaks coming across the border.

Adding to this, property is cheap. Even the cold war military bases are being revamped to house the latest far eastern conglomerate.

What this means for the Czech Republic is a massive manufacturing explosion and very rapid development and infrastructure investment.

What this means for countries like Ireland is that we can never rest. Things are changing elsewhere and we need to keep our eye on the ball at all times. Foreign investors will smile and shake our hands today and fly to Prague tomorrow to sign contracts.

Being competitive with these countries is very difficult as it is not currently a level playing field. We need to be smarter.

We also need to ensure Ireland can offer commitment, introduce incentives, and at the very least provide commercial options to big companies that are in a position to relocate.

Once a company commits, this sends out a signal that there is a lot to gain from keeping manufacturing in Ireland.

Kieran Collins,

56, Fernwalk,

Greenfields,

Ballincollig,

Co Cork.