Territorial Imbalances. Nationally, productivity per capita significantly exceeds the EU average. However, as discussed above, inward investment continues to be typically attracted to the (more populous) areas of Greater Dublin and Cork in the S&E region than the predominantly rural BMW region, with the exception of Galway in the West region which has a strong medical technology cluster and has contributed to an impressive regional economic performance. The north-east portion of the Border region also recorded some impressive gains, partly due to its location on the Dublin – Belfast corridor and the presence of the large urban centres of Dundalk and Drogheda. Table 3 Total Employment by Region in XXX Supported Companies 2009-2013 Source: IDA Ireland Annual Reports and Accounts 2013 As illustrated in Figure 14 below, GVA figures for 2010 show that Greater Dublin Areas accounted for 42% of total national GVA due to the high proportion of the workforce working in high value-added sectors, particularly finance, business services and information technology. On the other hand, the BMW region (outside of Galway) and more peripheral parts of the S&E region are characterised by an industrial structure which has an under-representation of higher value added sectors and relatively low productivity on an individual sectoral basis. Figure 14: EU 27, Ireland, NUTS II & NUTS III Indices of GVA per Person at Basic Prices 2002- 2010 (EU27 = 100) Source: CSO (2013), County and Regional Incomes 2010 Figure 14 also illustrates the productivity gap between NUTS III regions. The Dublin region, for example, contributes 42.1% of national GVA with 28.8% of the total employment. On the other hand, the Border region contributes just 6.5% with 10.1% of national employment. A number of structural challenges continue to hamper economic growth within these peripheral regions, with some having become more prominent over the past few years as a result of the economic downturn.
