Having effectively ended the Groceries Order when the new Competition Act took effect on 20 March, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment says he's not concerned that the change has not yet resulted in lower prices for consumers, as predicted by Hobbs when he got the nation to send in its nappies.

"You have to ask why was it abolished in the first instance, " he says. "We didn't make any major predictions in terms of price reductions. I was very studious in the Dail in all my replies. At the Oireachtas committee I made it clear that I was predicting no price reductions. Despite what other bodies did, we didn't. We made that very clear. The reason we got rid of the Groceries Order was that it was an artificial intervention in the marketplace.

Fundamentally, we got rid of an anti-competitive measure.

"It's too early to judge whether the change has succeeded in keeping prices down. There are some indications that some things are moving in the right direction. To be fair, its abolition coincided with a significant rise in oil prices. And a rise in oil prices has a ripple effect across the economy."

That higher energy prices have started to bite across the board in business can't be in doubt. With a 20% rise in rates from ESB and a 34% rise in prices from Bord Gais approved on Friday, the average cost of energy for a small business in Ireland is 41% higher than it would be in the UK, according to figures quoted by an Ibec executive.

"Energy is one of the key issues for the country, " agrees Martin. "Not just price issues but ultimately long-term security of supply.

Minister [for Marine, Natural Resources and Communications] Noel Dempsey is working on that agenda. There are no overnight solutions here. The Deloitte review is with the minister."

But he admits: "We are concerned about the ongoing impact on competitiveness. So I'm confident Dempsey has a plan. His department have a fair idea what needs to be done and they have my support in bringing forth proposals that will make a more competitive market."

Charges to business by local authorities, such as development levies, are almost as high on the agenda of Ireland Inc, and Martin is eager to talk about them. "We are an advocate for enterprise on this issue, " he says.

He cites a Dublin city centre manufacturer supported by Enterprise Ireland that wanted to expand. It was presented with a bill by Dublin city council for 500,000.

"The application of the development levies has been excessive in my opinion and has not taken on board sufficiently the effects, particularly on manufacturing, and particularly indigenous Irish manufacturing companies, who are expanding. I've made these points to my colleague, the minister for the environment, but also the county managers."

In the case of the Dublin manufacturer, "as far as we're concerned the support being given by Enterprise Ireland is just being taken away by the local authority".

He says he's pushing the recommendation of the Small Business Forum that local development levies be assessed based on the actual impact of greater demands on infrastructure posed by expanding businesses on a case by case basis.

Even more than energy costs, Martin sees complacency as the biggest threat to continued Irish prosperity. "People think 'we've arrived'. And you get a bit of that sometimes.

'Now is the time to distribute all the wealth and sure we've made enough of it.' There are continuing competitive forces that will continually challenge us."

The fact that Ireland is an attractive place to do business has generated substantial foreign direct investment but hasn't transformed Ireland to a world leader in innovation.

But he says the department's latest initiatives will help that process along. The plan to get business to grow its spend on R&D to 2.5Bn by 2013 is the centrepiece. "That's the big-ticket item, " he says. But how success will be measured is slightly more vague.

"We'll double the business spend both indigenous and FDI by 2013, ' he says. "And we'll increase participation rates in the sciences. You'll see it more and more in highpotential start-ups. There'll be a change in the nature of FDI investment, with a stronger R&D component. It's very critical to us in terms of guaranteeing future production."

Whether that spend will translate into an indigenous Irish company becoming a worldbeating Nokia is another question. But Europe itself may be an even greater threat, he says.

"I'm worried about the slow pace of reform in Europe. I'm concerned about Europe's inward-looking approach on state aids. I'm not sure Europe has cottoned on to the globalisation phenomenon, the rise of China, India;

South America will be growing.

"Generally we get a sense in our engagement with Europe that it's a highly bureaucratised production line of directives which is never-ending. All the rhetoric about impact assessments, it's continuing to come down the track. The degree to which it impacts on business isn't always taken on board."

The gulf in attitudes between Ireland and some other parts of Europe might be found in attitudes towards Apple's iTunes, which French legislators recently tried to force to open up its software to devices other than the ubiquitous iPod.

"I don't agree with the French approach.

The innovator creates the market. Over time that happens in most businesses. I think we have to be careful we don't create disincentives for people who are genuinely innovating."

Martin says Europe has failed to come to terms with the way new technology can disrupt old systems of regulation, especially in intellectual property, which he thinks requires a pan-European regime.

"We need to engage with the technology issue. What you're getting is individual country responses. I think we can do better."

He also thinks the public sector should be faster at adopting new technology. "We tend to go for the tried and trusted. Many indigenous companies have said this to us. In the United States they're far better earlier adopters."

So does Ireland's spokesman on technology have an iPod himself?

"Yes. Well, no. My daughter has an iPod. I avail of the process. We allegedly bought it for the daughter. My wife sends me off with it every now and again for a walk."