Meeting 3: 19th September 2019

Location:        Central Statistics Office, Ardee Road, Rathmines

Date:               19^th September 2019

Time:              3:30pm

Room:            Joyce Room: 3^rd Floor CSO Ardee Road

Agenda

1. Introduction

2. Discussion and presentation of the Productivity in Ireland 2017 publication

3. Feedback

4. AO.B

Minutes

• Following a brief introduction, Michael Connolly and Yvonne Hayden made a presentation regarding the recently published productivity publication.

• The ESRI raised the issue of the Domestic and Other and Foreign breakout in the publication and queried if the domestic and other sector included Irish owned multinationals. The ESRI were particularly interested in understanding how productivity in the Irish multinationals compares with productivity in the domestic firms. However, as a lot of work is involved in doing such an estimate, it is not possible to do such a breakout presently.

• A second point raised by the ESRI involved if it was possible to break the capital stocks into tangible and intangible assets. The CSO said that such a breakout should be possible under the current work programme.

• Enterprise Ireland queried what needed to be done more in the QALI side of things and CSO stated that further work is required.

• The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation queried the methodology used for the QALI and CSO informed them that it was a Eurostat methodology.

• NERI raised an issue surrounding the difference in labour productivity growth in the construction sector in the 2 publications and the CSO clarified the differences were due to revisions to the data source.

• The Central bank wondered if it was possible to do the analysis at a NACE level greater than NACE 2. However, the priorities are currently on the KLEMS and QALI analysis.

• The NCC welcomed the addition of nominal unit labour costs and the addition of the breakout between tangible and intangible capital.

• The NTMA asked if it was possible to do the analysis by company size (small, medium, large) and it is something the CSO will look at following the completion of the KLEMS and QALI analysis.

• It is expected that the group will convene mid-year next year.