Enda Kenny famously once said he wanted Ireland to be "the best small country in the world in which to do business".

To borrow a phrase from another taoiseach it's a case of "a lot done, more to do".

Ireland has today jumped from 7th place to 16th in the IMD Global Competitiveness Yearbook rankings.

China-Hong Kong top the list, followed by Switzerland and the US.

Still ahead of us are Singapore, Denmark and Sweden.

If you class Singapore, Switzerland and Denmark as small countries, then Ireland is the fourth best small country in the world in which to do business.

Welcoming the new rankings, IDA Ireland also noted that Ireland is first in a number of the IMD yearbook's sub categories:

• 1st for Real GDP Growth
• 1st for Real GDP Growth per capita
• 1st for Investment Incentives
• 1st National Culture
• 1st for Finance Skills