IRELAND: Jobs Minister, Richard Bruton has welcomed Forbes Maagaine's annual ranking of the best countries for business, which puts Ireland in first place.
Speaking from Indonesia where he is attending the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference and EU Trade Council, the minister said that the ranking was a testament to the hard work and innovation of Ireland's businesses and workers.
Mr Bruton said that this was one of the latest in a range of indicators which showed that Ireland's business environment was steadily improving.
"The Government has a key role too in delivering improvements in the environment for business. Before the election we said that we would seek to make Ireland the best small country in the world for business and in order to achieve this, we put in place the action plan for Jobs to drive change across the economy," Minister Bruton said.
"Through continued implementation of the action plan, this year and in future years, the Government are determined to ensure that we sustain these improvements and cement our reputation as the best country in the world for business," he added.