I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 17, inclusive, together.
Following on from a meeting between Government officials and representatives of ICTU on 13 June, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Finance and I will be meeting with ICTU this afternoon to discuss further steps to reduce inflationary pressures. With regard to IBEC, I addressed its biennial conference on Thursday last, in the course of which I set out Government policy on inflation and other issues affecting competitiveness. I will be meeting with representatives of IBEC, hopefully, on Friday to discuss the inflation issue.
The Government fully shares the concern of ICTU, IBEC and the other social partners at the implications of continuing high inflation for achieving the objectives set out in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. Working closely with the social partners, we are determined to overcome this challenge. Last Thursday, the Government announced a package of measures on housing. These measures will help to ease pressures in housing which is contributing significantly to the current inflation figures. They will also stimulate further increases in supply while at the same time giving full recognition to the needs of the first time buyer.
There are, of course, many other factors which are contributing to inflation. Some of these, such as oil prices and the relative weakness of the euro, are outside our direct control. Other factors, however, can be tackled domestically. For example, there are indications of excessive profit taking with regard to prices in certain services, including the food and drink sectors. The Government, therefore, has made clear that we will vigorously implement competition policy and, to that end, new resources have been committed to the Competition Authority.
The Government is also considering options for further measures to reduce the rate of inflation and, in this regard, careful consideration is being given to the proposals put forward by the Congress of Trade Unions and to the views expressed by other social partners.
The next plenary meeting on monitoring implementation of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness will take place on 27 July. The main purpose of the meeting, which I will attend together with the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance, will be to review progress across the operational frameworks in the PPF.
I understand that the National Economic and Social Council finalised its work programme at its meeting on 16 June. As I outlined in the Dáil last week, the work programme involves two broad research categories. The first will address the provision of "Information for Policy" and the second will examine medium-term strategic policy options in key policy areas. I have no plans to commission any further specific reports from the council.