I welcome this opportunity to participate in this debate. As well as reaffirming confidence in the overall strategy of the Government, brought about with the help of the social partners, through the Programme for National Recovery and now the Programme for Economic and Social Progress it enables me, as is done on an annual basis, to put on record an outline of the progress my Department are making in labour market policies over a range of areas. I see the Department as having three main aims: facilitating job creation and maintenance through good industrial relations, training and skill development; making the labour market more effective while helping the disadvantaged to participate on more equal terms, ensuring that basic employment standards are maintained and, where possible, enhanced. I have been very satisfied with the progress we have been able to make on all these fronts over the last number of years.
Over the last four years we have embarked, successfully, on the process of transforming the economic and social situation of the country. With the help of the social partners we have ushered in an era of development in every area of the economy and society.
I should like to remind the House once again of some of these achievements. Our economic growth last year was about 6 per cent, compared with no growth between 1983 and 1986 — the worst performance in the OECD. Our debt-GNP ratio fell from 131 per cent in 1987 to 111 per cent at the end of last year and Exchequer borrowing fell from a peak of 13 per cent of GNP to 2 per cent last year — the lowest for 40 years. The Government are determined to take the necessary measures to avoid re-entering an upward spiral. Our inflation is now among the lowest in the European Community, despite strong growth which normally carries an inflationary danger. Our balance of payments situation has been transformed from a substantial deficit to an even bigger surplus. Our investment increased at an average of 10 per cent a year in both 1989 and 1990. We have taken major steps towards a fairer taxation system, for instance by reducing both standard and top rate taxes by 6 per cent since 1989, major extension of tax exemption limits for those on low pay, widening the tax base and reforming corporation tax.
The first six months of 1991 have been difficult because of the deeper than expected recessions in the UK and the USA. It was heartening in this context to note the OECD forecast earlier this week that the industrialised countries would return to growth for the second half of 1991, reaching the very satisfactory overall level of 3 per cent growth in 1992.
While the budget returns for the first half-year of 1991 are disappointing, they do support the evidence that the economy is still growing despite the difficult international circumstances. We are still doing more creditably than other countries and, of course, are in a far better position than we would have been if we had not tackled so firmly the dire situation we inherited in 1987.
The Programme for National Recovery, and firm Government adherence to strict policies, brought this country back from the edge of financial bankruptcy. The Programme for Economic and Social Progress is designed to continue this process. The PNR — and now the PESP — also made a significant improvement in the quality of life of everyone. Both programmes are unique in that they include all the important interest groups in society. They balance macro-economic policy with the realisation that the position of the weaker and more disadvantaged groups in our society needs to be protected. They provide a successful solution to the dangers of conflict between the different sectoral groups. As a small open economy in a very unstable external environment, we cannot afford to indulge in sterile conflict or to fail to co-operate for the general good.
Hand in hand with this economic progress we have made major social gains. Between 1986 and 1991 we increased spending on health in real terms by 5.3 per cent, compared with a fall of 0.5 per cent between 1982 and 1986. In education we increased spending by 13.7 per cent between 1986 and 1990, more than double the increase of 5.7 per cent between 1982 and 1986.
In my labour area we have made major progress towards having an up-to-date relevant body of labour legislation for the nineties and beyond.
Through the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, passed in 1989, and the establishment of the Health and Safety Authority we have in place now a modern system designed to promote and enforce preventative action rather than relying on sanctions after the event. I also brought into force the Safety, Health and Welfare (Offshore Installations) Act, 1987, to give statutory protection to workers offshore.
Equally, the Industrial Relations Act, which was passed by the House this time last year and the consequential establishment of the Labour Relations Commission have set the scene for further emphasis on preventative action on industrial relations problems. The commission's prowess to develop codes of practice, carry out research and operate an advisory service will help to develop a less confrontational approach in individual industries. In addition, of course, the commission have taken over responsibility for the conciliation, Rights Commissioner, rights and employment equality services, leaving the Labour Court in its rightful place as the court of final resort.
In the training and temporary employment area, the confusion up to 1987 of individuals faced by three manpower agencies offering overlapping services with differing criteria for assessing eligibility was solved by the establishment of FÁS. As a single, comprehensive, local and client-centred organisation, FÁS have been slimmed down, made more efficient and effective and able to give optimum help to their clients.
In the labour area, the three years covered by the Programme for National Recovery was a period of unprecedented industrial relations peace, with the figures for strikes and days lost down dramatically compared with previous years.
I am glad that the figures for strikes and days lost so far this year are again well down on the same period last year. For the first six months we had 29 strikes, compared with 32 last year and 46 in 1987. The number of days lost fell from 176,918 in the same period last year to 45,457 this year. This shows that we have a greatly improved level of industrial harmony, which, of course, is very positive for our economic development.
I particularly welcome the marked decline over recent years in disputes relating to pay issues. This trend can be directly linked to the pay agreements associated with the Programme for National Recovery. I am hopeful that the pay agreements provided for under the Programme for Economic and Social Progress can play a similarly successful role in minimising the level of industrial conflict in relation to pay over the next three years.
The agreements were attractive to both sides. For employers they meant the ability to plan for increases in pay costs over the medium term. For workers, they represented an improvement in living standards and gave real increases in take-home pay when combined with income tax cuts and the very low rates of increase in inflation which occurred over the period.
As provided for under the Programme for National Recovery, 150,000 workers now benefit from reduced working hours. A framework agreement on hours of work was concluded in 1989, providing for the implementation of a one hour per week reduction in working hours where the normal working week is at or above 40 hours. The process continued right through the past year. It is estimated that by the end of December last, approximately 450 agreements had been recorded, covering over 70,000 workers in the private sector and approximately 80,000 workers in the public sector.
Pay policy is a central feature of our economic development. While the pay increases provided for in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress, approximately 4 per cent per annum, are higher than those in the Programme for National Recovery, I am confident that they are at a level which will enable us to maintain the gains in competitiveness which we achieved over the last three years. Most importantly the pay agreements should help to ensure that the present stable industrial relations environment is maintained. They will also allow employers to plan ahead with a reasonable degree of certainty.
Last year saw the enactment of the new Industrial Relations Act, which provided for the most comprehensive reform of trade dispute and industrial relations law for 50 years. The immediate origins of the Act lay in the Programme for National Recovery. This committed me to holding discussions with the social partners on changes in industrial relations, with the aim of providing an improved framework for collective bargaining and dispute settlement and helping create conditions for employment-generating investment.
The changes in trade union dispute law tighten and clarify the law in relation to picketing, restrict the granting of injunctions in trade disputes and build on existing good practice in the area of pre-strike ballots by providing that unions must have a rule in their rule books requiring the holding of such ballots.
The Act also provided for the establishment of the Labour Relations Commission with the specific role of promoting good industrial relations. The commission was established earlier this year. An important objective of the commission is to bring about a change in attitudes so that the responsibility for dispute resolution is shifted back to the parties themselves, where it primarily belongs. As I said earlier, through its various services, the commission will encourage and facilitate a more active approach to dispute prevention and resolution. The establishment of the commission should enable the Labour Court to become a court of final resort, as it was originally intended to be.
One of the major new functions which is to be carried out by the commission is the drawing up of codes of practice on various aspects of industrial relations. This is an area of the commission's work which has received a lot of attention in the aftermath of the ESB strike in April of this year. The commission had already begun work on developing codes of practice but priority attention is now being given to drafting a code to cover disputes in essential services. Under the Act the position in regard to codes of practice is that the commission drafts the codes in consultation with employer and trade union organisations and other interested parties. The draft code is then submitted to me and I am empowered to make an order declaring the code to be a code of practice for the purposes of the Act.
Codes of practice are not legally binding and breach of the terms of a code does not leave anybody open to proceedings. However, the codes are, set in a statutory framework, admissible in evidence and can be taken into account by the courts or the dispute settlement agencies in determining any issue to which they may be relevant.
I am confident that the range of measures provided for in the Industrial Relations Act, together with the activities of the various dispute-settling institutions, will make an important contribution to a stable industrial relations climate which is an essential element in the creation of a strong economic environment.
The experience with the Programme for National Recovery and the Programme for Economic and Social Progress has demonstrated what can be achieved when all the main social partners come together and are involved in the drawing up of a range of agreed targets and objectives. The success of this approach, based on consensus rather than on adversarial attitudes, sets a clear example as to what could be achieved by the adoption of participative arrangements at the level of the individual enterprise. Indeed, there is evidence of a move away from the traditional adversarial style of industrial relations to a more consensus-based approach, centred on the recognition that it is in everyone's interest that the enterprise be developed to achieve its maximum potential.
There is already a wide range of formal participative practices in operation throughout the public sector. This is underpinned by the worker participation legislation, which provides for worker directors in 11 State companies and for sub-board participation in 35 companies. The legislation is very flexible in relation to sub-board participation, allowing each company to develop the type of arrangements best suited to their own needs.
There have been developments, too, in the private sector. The Federation of Irish Employers and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have had discussions on how best to encourage and develop employee involvement in that sector. Arising from these talks a joint declaration covering employee involvement in the private sector has just been published. This joint declaration will stimulate activity in this area, and enable employee involvement to be seen as a complementary activity to conventional industrial relations practices.
Developments at Community level too will have an impact on all member states, and these are issues which we will have to face up to over the next few years.
As part of the process leading to the Single Market a whole package of proposals has been drawn up in the social area, which includes the issue of employee involvement. A draft directive on the establishment of a European Works Council in Community-scale undertakings has already been brought forward by the Commission, and a Council recommendation on the question of financial participation is also proposed. My Department will be actively involved in the discussions on these proposed instruments with the intention of ensuring that what finally emerges takes account of our interests and concerns.
Considerable progress continues to be made in the area of trade union rationalisation. The Government have sought to encourage rationalisation of the trade union movement mainly through the Trade Union Act, 1975, by simplifying the legal procedures involved and by making grants available towards the costs incurred by unions. To date grants amounting to almost £1 million have been paid by my Department in respect of 12 mergers.
While the number of trade unions has declined steadily over the years — from 95 in 1970 to 65 at present — there is still scope for further rationalisation. I am very pleased that the pace of rationalisation has accelerated considerably over the past few years. The indications are that the long-term objective of both Government and the trade union movement, of significantly reducing the number of trade unions, is being achieved.
This trend looks like continuing for some time. In 1991 two trade union mergers have taken place — an amalgamation of the Local Government and Public Services' Union and the Union of Professional and Technical Civil Servants to form the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union (IMPACT) and a transfer of engagements from the Telecommunications Officials Union to the Communications Workers Union. With a membership of about 22,000, IMPACT is now the largest public service union and the second largest union overall in the country.
These mergers involving public service unions follow on a number of mergers of private sector unions, including the ITGWU and the FWUI to form SIPTU. This is a particularly welcome development which I hope will continue. Several other mergers are either in progress or under discussion at present and should come to fruition over the next few years.
The change introduced in the Industrial Relations Act, 1990, which allows unions to claim expenses where an attempted merger is unsuccessful, should give further impetus to the present merger trend.
The years between 1987 and 1990 have seen a return to employment growth from the decline between 1982 and 1986. Much of the credit for this is due to the consensus approach adopted by the social partners and the Government under the Programme for National Recovery.
The economic measures contained in that programme led to the creation of over 70,000 jobs. This was excellent in European terms. Indeed, the 3 per cent increase in employment in the 12 months between April 1989 and April 1990, as reported in the latest labour force survey, outstripped the average increase in employment in the European Community over the same period.
I listened carefully to what Deputy Rabbitte had to say. There are difficulties at present. Unemployment continues to rise over the summer months for reasons that have been well debated in the House and outside. To list, as Deputy Rabbitte did, all the benefits and advantages that were to come from the Programme for National Recovery and to say we did not achieve anything in the employment area is not fair to the social partners or the companies involved. The figures are not mine but independent figures. There was a 3 per cent increase in employment in the 12 months between April 1989 and April 1990; 70,000 jobs were created between 1987 and 1990 and, as the labour force survey stated, this outstrips the average increase in employment in the EC over the same period. It is fair within the political domain to criticise the fact that the figures have been increased recently. There was a 22 month stretch when they declined. The Government issued a statement each time in recent months when they went up and it is fair to debate the reasons for that, but what was achieved during the Programme for National Recovery should be acknowledged. It is misleading to throw out the suggestion that nothing was achieved during that period.
The current employment difficulties have been caused by factors outside our control. These include the recessions in the US and UK, both of which have been aggravated by the Gulf crisis. The UK recession has proved deeper than expected and the labour market there has been badly hit. This, in turn, has led to the return home of thousands of our emigrants and a fall-off in the numbers seeking work abroad.
Far from saying that we are upset to see that, as Deputy Rabbitte tried to imply, I am glad to see our emigrants returning home, but it does create difficulties in increasing the number of jobs, particularly in the light of the difficulties caused by the Gulf crisis almost a year ago. There is no question of running away from the issue. The Minister for Industry and Commerce, who is directly responsible for the employment-creating agencies, the IDA, CTT and others, has spelled out that this is a challenge with which we must contend. The Minister for Finance was merely stating the facts this morning.
Net outward migration has decreased dramatically between 1990 and 1991. In the years 1986-90 the average annual level of emigration was of the order of 34,000. I was involved in providing information through all FÁS offices to people who were ill-prepared to emigrate or who would be ill-advised to emigrate. We were working actively on that at a time when we were being criticised for letting these people leave the country. On the other hand we had the well-educated who were going of their own volition because there were good jobs there for them.
We know now that people are not going. We have convinced them that it is not right to go because there are very few opportunities for them. The people who were going for the better life and for work experience abroad realise that there are no jobs there. This is the fact but the average annual level of emigration between 1986 and 1990 was of the order of 34,000 and the census figures just published put net emigration at only 1,000 for the year to April, 1991, a drop of over 33,000.
We have to continue to look to every sector of the market, public and private, to try to create sustainable jobs, jobs that are not created through borrowing and over-taxation of people who are already paying enough. This is a challenge for us. The factors I have just spoken about naturally create live register difficulties. The twin factors of the overall improvement in the economy during the last three years and the recent adverse employment situation in Britain and elsewhere have reduced the numbers wishing to emigrate and attracted previous emigrants back home often with new families. This in turn has led to exceptional growth in the labour market giving rise to an increase in unemployment, despite the good rate of job creation. I hope and anticipate that we can improve on this. However, we have to look at the figures I have put forward in this House on numerous occasions.
If the increase in the labour market from second and third-level education this year is in the region of 30,000 and another 30,000 plus return from abroad that means we need something like 60,000 jobs. The programme was drawn up with the advice of the ESRI, the OECD and Community assessments of the country. With the wisdom of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the farming bodies and the Federation of Irish Employers we set out to try to create between 30,000 and 35,000 jobs. One does not have to be a statistician or a mathematician to see how our short term difficulties arise. That is something we have to continue to improve on. It is not, as Deputy Rabbitte is saying, that we are afraid of the facts, that we are running away from them in embarrassment. We have to do all we can to deal with the facts. We have the task force set up under the Central Review Committee and the group working to the Minister for Industry and Commerce on industrial policy. We have Government agencies, Departments and a group of semi-State leaders whom the Taoiseach met last week, all trying to tackle the problem. It is not a question of people dropping their heads and doing nothing about it. It would not be of any benefit if, having listened to some Opposition speakers list out what is being done and what is not being done, I were to give in to the temptation to refer to the summer of 1985, when there were similar difficulties, and to what was not done at that time. I am more concerned about addressing the Estimate for this year and about what we can do in the period immediately ahead.
While there are no facile solutions to unemployment, the Government have responded in a practical manner by the introduction of a package of special measures to offset the immediate effects of the global recession on employment by: the provision of 2,500 new places on the social employment scheme for the long-term unemployed; the training of 1,000 new apprentices in targeted sectors; and the creation of a new marketing initiative to develop tourism.
In addition, the Special Employment Task Force will explore new job-creation possibilities and undertake a review of industrial policy before the end of the year.
Tackling employment remains the number one priority of the Government. A continuation of Government policy aimed at creating a firm basis for the growth of the economy is the only realistic solution to the problem of unemployment. The ESRI and the OECD have strongly advised that we should actively pursue current policies. On past experience, we must avoid resorting to short-term emergency pump-priming measures which would serve only to lead us up an economic cul-de-sac and jeopardise employment prospects over the medium term. We must have confidence in the underlying very real strength of our economy and the imminent prospect of a return to economic growth in industrialised countries.
Through FÁS training and employment schemes we already devote very substantial resources to helping the unemployed. This year, FÁS alone will provide programme opportunities for some 52,000 people, at an Exchequer cost of £130 million. These include opportunities for around 33,000 trainees. These vary from skills foundation training, aimed at young people, to alternant training, aimed at older long-term unemployed and those wishing to return to the workforce after a voluntary break in their working lives. Opportunities on employment schemes will be provided for a further 19,000. During 1990 FÁS got jobs for 20,500 job seekers in Ireland through its employment services offices. This understates FÁS job successes as, in addition, FÁS training centres also made a significant number of job placements.
I would like to take the opportunity here of commenting on the ESRI report on the youth labour market published earlier this week. The study, of course, refers to the period up to 1988 and does not take account of new developments, such as the introduction of Youthreach. I am glad to say that initial results of the second year of Youthreach appear to be extremely positive. Secondly, the Breen study clearly shows that the prospects of getting a job for young people who receive training are significantly improved. The results given in the main report indicate that young people who have been through a training course are 2.5 times more likely to get a job than those without such training. There may have been some confusion over this figure when the report was issued but the ESRI subsequently clarified this in a detailed statement yesterday.
The unemployed, particularly the long-term unemployed, continue to be a major concern of the Government. The social employment scheme this year has a target of 12,500 participants by the end of the year. Although the scheme is part-time, I am satisfied that participation is very worthwhile and helps participants to improve their prospects of obtaining employment when opportunities become available. Also, there is the added bonus that the projects on which the participants work are of significant benefit to local communities. The allowances now available represent a great improvement on the allowance structures last year, and I am glad that the scheme is now attracting far more interest among those with dependent families. Currently over 50 per cent of participants have adult and child dependants compared with only 30 per cent at the end of 1989.
As one answer to long-term unemployment, the Programme for Economic and Social Development incorporates a strategy for an area-based response to long-term unemployment. The strategy will have local communities as the primary movers. The approach is being piloted in 12 urban and rural areas and already companies have been established in many of the targeted areas with the remaining companies to be established over the coming weeks. Included in these projects are three projects — Dublin Inner City, Tallaght and Cork North City — for which we secured over £2 million in EC assistance following the resolution on long-term unemployment adopted during the Irish Presidency of the Council of Social Affairs Ministers.
Skills training with recognised qualifications is becoming ever more essential for persons seeking employment. We welcome the steps taken by FÁS towards certification of a greater number of their training courses — especialy the development of joint certification with the City and Guilds Institute. Trainees will leave courses with qualifications which are internationally recognised and which will assist them in securing employment at home or within the EC. In addition, FÁS are also negotiating for cross-European recognition and comparability of vocational qualifications through CEDE-FOP — the EC training authority. This enhances the portability of certificates awarded by FÁS to programme participants.
Proposals for a new apprenticeship system are set out in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress. The funding of the new system is being discussed by the Central Review Committee.
Primary responsibility for training employees rests inevitably with employers. Nevertheless the State can and does encourage and promote continuing training with the firm. Ongoing or continuing training is particularly important due to changes in skill requirements, especially with developments in technology. In recognition of the considerable impact on skill requirements which will result from the completion of the Internal Market after 1992, FÁS have developed and are implementing an industrial restructuring programme at a cost of over £4 million in 1991. The programme assists small and medium sized enterprises to improve their competitiveness through training in preparation for the Single European Market.
Earlier this year I launched the EC-wide FORCE programme in Ireland. This will assist companies to identify their manpower and skill needs so that they can design the most appropriate continuing training programme to satisfy these needs. FORCE will facilitate the establishment of a Community-wide network of good training practices, while reviewing trends in labour markets and existing and projected needs for training. The central aim of FORCE is to assist individual workers to develop their skills and qualifications so that they can get better jobs or jobs more in keeping with their interests and abilities. Naturally, this will be to the ultimate advantage of all the players in the labour market.
We have during the course of the year secured a capital allocation for FÁS of over £8 million, which takes account of assistance from the European Regional Development Fund. The allocation reflects the need to address the rapid changes which have been taking place in manufacturing industry over the last two decades, mainly as a result of advancing new technologies and changing markets. We cannot provide a highly skilled, well trained workforce unless we have training centres which are equipped with modern up-to-date equipment. This must reflect the type of equipment which trainees will use when they subsequently obtain sustainable employment.
We have an obligation to provide the Irish workforce with the skills of the nineties. The capital allocation will enable FÁS to continue to replace, update and expand training centre equipment. It will also enable FÁS to continue their programme of modernisation of employment services offices in order to provide a better service to the public.
The FÁS overseas company, ILTS, continues to operate successfully. In 1989, the first full year of operation for which accounts are available, the company created the equivalent of 40 full-time jobs through their commercial operations abroad. During the latter half of last year they had difficulties in the Middle East due to the Gulf War but they are now involved again in the Middle East and in Central and Eastern European countries, working with the World Bank under the Community schemes, and are doing exceptionally well.
For a number of years FÁS have participated in SEDOC, the European placement service. The scope of SEDOC has been widened recently to include bilateral arrangements with placement services in the most popular member states for Irish workers. FÁS are now strengthening and formalising these arrangements in order to provide better opportunities for our emigrants. At their last meeting, the Social Affairs Council further examined how communications and various national services could be developed and integrated. They prepared a paper under the Luxembourg Presidency which hopefully will lead to a better system. There were some criticisms of how the system operated.
Free movement of workers within the EC is now a reality. Through SEDOC, FÁS assisted approximately 2,000 Irish people to secure permanent and seasonal employment in other EC member states last year. However, many more secure employment through their own efforts. The knowledge and experience gained while working abroad can make a valuable contribution to Irish development when such workers return to Ireland.
The recently published NESC report on emigration provides a very comprehensive analysis of the subject. It sheds further light on the complex range of factors and pressures now influencing the pattern of emigration. I am pleased to say that most of the recommendations contained in the report endorse policy decisions already adopted by the Government. Indeed, FÁS have already started implementing most of the policy initiatives suggested in their area in the NESC report.
They also provide a pre-departure advice and counselling service which, among other things, aims at discouraging from emigrating young vulnerable emigrants who would be better off staying at home. As an alternative, they may be offered a place on the Youthreach programme, or other suitable FÁS schemes. FÁS also alert them to suitable job vacancies.
The range of training programmes provided by CERT is being expanded to reflect the new profile in Irish tourism. While the core of the industry remains the hotel and catering sectors, recent years have seen heavy investment in leisure and activity businesses. The Government have recognised the potential in these new sectors and in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress tourism has been identified as a major area for economic development. The creation of 15,000 jobs in the economy has been targeted as a result of tourism-related activities.
This will be a significant year for CERT who are responsible for the recruitment and training of personnel at all levels of the hotel, catering and tourism industry. Work has commenced on a new national headquarters and training centre for CERT in Dublin. The building will replace CERT's current headquarters in Lansdowne Road and their Dublin training centres in Clonskeagh and East Wall Road. All office and training facilities will be centralised and purpose built, allowing CERT to broaden the scope of the training facilities available. The new premises will open in the middle of next year.
As a result of increased Exchequer and European Social Fund allocations, CERT were able to increase their training activity in 1990 by 11 per cent over the previous year. This went a long way to meet increased demand for skilled personnel. To accommodate this increase in activity, a permanent training centre was opened in Limerick and additional temporary training centres were set up in a number of seasonal hotels. Over 9,200 persons were trained by CERT in 1990 and a similar number will be trained this year.
Management development also figures prominently in the development plans of the Department of Labour. High performance in management is critical to Ireland's economic performance and employment growth in the future. The most serious problem identified two years ago by the Advisory Committee on Management Training was a widespread lack of commitment to management development among the leaders of all kinds of organisations. For example, the committee found that over one-fifth of the top 1,000 companies spent nothing on management development or did not know how much they spent.
This year my Department launched a programme entitled the, "Year of the Manager," spearheaded nationally by the Irish Management Institute. It addresses the problem of the low level of commitment to management development. The programme comprises a series of seminars, workshops and conferences which will be held during autumn and winter. These will be attended in the main by managers of small to medium-sized enterprises. The project is being funded primarily by way of the Structural Funds, with contributions from the Exchequer, participants and the IMI.
The reform of the Structural Funds has had a significant impact on the development of our human resources. It has also had a major impact on the work of my Department, which acts as the national designated authority for all matters relating to the European Social Fund. In the reform of ESF, the broad thrust of the fund remained much the same — to help unemployed persons to secure jobs through vocational training and employment schemes.
The European Commission has tried to integrate the ESF activities with those of the European Regional Development Fund and the FEOGA Guidance Fund to achieve greater effectiveness. Our experience in 1990 with the new fund and the new procedures, on the whole, has been positive. My Department, and the other agencies concerned, have had to cope with new procedures and conditions. I am glad to say they have been very successful in this.
Under the reformed Structural Funds, Ireland received over £230 million from the European Social Fund in 1990, compared to £183 million in 1989. This money was spent on training interventions carried out under eight different operational programmes by 15 agencies. We expect to receive over £240 million in transfers from the European Social Fund in 1991.
The assistance from the ESF is paid on the basis of operational programmes for human resources development which have been drawn up in consultation with the European Commission. Those programmes cover industry and services; rural development, including training for agriculture and fisheries; occupational integration of disabled people; training for tourism; the training of instructors; training in secondary schools, apprenticeships and the social employment scheme; and assistance for the long-term unemployed and young people seeking their first job.
In order to ensure that the programmes achieve the objectives set for them special monitoring committees have been established. These include representatives of Government Departments and State bodies as well as representatives of the European Commission. This bringing together of the different national bodies responsible for economic development and employment creation and the European Commission has already resulted in a more effective use of national and Community resources. Special evaluations of the programmes are also being carried out in order to assess their effectiveness and value for money.
The additional Structural Funds resources have enabled us to increase the level of activity on training courses and employment schemes. This year FÁS will receive nearly £90 million and CERT approximately £5 million from the European Social Fund.
This greater commitment to training by the European Commission arises from a recognition of the vital role training must play in increasing economic development, especially in the regions of the EC which are relatively underdeveloped. Irish training organisations train to the highest standards, making Irish trainees attractive to employers wishing to compete and expand at home and in European and other international markets.
Training interventions supported by the European Social Fund take place in a European context and some courses include transnational training as an important element of the programme. This aspect is a particular feature of the new Community initiatives which the Commission launched at the beginning of the year. My Department are responsible for three such initiatives, Euroform which concerns new skills, new qualifications and new employment opportunities; Horizon which aims to promote the vocational integration of the disabled and the disadvantaged and NOW which concerns new vocational training opportunities for women.
My Department have reviewed a wide range of proposals under each of those initiatives. They seek Community funding amounting to several times the amount likely to be available. Accordingly I have taken up this issue with the Commissioner for Social Affairs, Vasso Papandreou and, on the basis of the quality of projects which have been submitted, I hope to achieve an increase in the funding for these Community initiatives.
I am also concerned at certain administrative aspects of the Structural Funds within the European Commission. In particular, delays in making approved payments are causing problems for all agencies which are co-financed by the European Social Fund. Substantial payments are now overdue. Training organisations should not have to incur large interest charges on borrowings due to the late payment of approved European Social Fund funds. I have formally raised this question with responsible Commissioners and the Government are insisting on the more expeditious transfer of payments in the future.
Ireland has always made full use of the European Social Fund to improve the quality and quantity of vocational training available in the country. The growth in the numbers being trained and in training infrastructure developments since we joined the Community in 1973 has been possible because of the assistance received from the Social Fund. Since we joined the Community Ireland has received assistance from the European Social Fund in excess of £1,500 million. The Government intend to continue to make maximum use of the European Social Fund to improve the quality of the workforce through vocational training, by improved technological education and by schemes to train and rehabilitate the long-term unemployed.
A Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers was adopted by Ireland and ten other member states of the European Community in 1989. The Irish Presidency sought last year to advance a realistic timetable for progress on implementing the charter. The Commission action programme to implement the charter includes some 20 legally-binding instruments as well as a range of other measures.
During the period under review the Social Affairs Council has been giving consideration to the Commission's proposals relating to non-typical workers, such as part-time, temporary and agency workers, the organisation of working time, the protection at work of pregnant women and women who have recently given birth, and the provision of information to employees about their conditions of employment. Agreement has been reached on the latter proposal and I expect a Directive on "proof of contract" to be adopted at the next Council of Ministers.
Ireland fully recognises the need to develop the social dimension of Community policies. These are a vital counterbalance to the emphasis on the economic dimension. We see social cohesion as an essential basis for the creation of the Single Market and for sustainable economic integration generally. An important aim will be to ensure that specific Community actions in this broad area are satisfactorily adjusted to Ireland's distinctive circumstances and needs, particularly the need to increase numbers in viable employment.
In the current negotiations at the Intergovernmental Conference on Political Union there are various proposals for changes in the decision-making machinery in the social policy area, not merely in relation to the implementation of the European Social Charter but for social policy issues generally in the future. These include different formulae for the extension of qualified majority voting, covering such aspects as scope and methods of application. Because of both the immediate and the longer-term implications, all of these proposals require the most careful consideration.
The overriding concern for us in relation to Community social policy will be to ensure, as best we can, that absolute priority is given to the preservation and development of employment. Indeed, we have been pressing very strongly for this to be the primary objective in any amended provisions of the social policy chapter of the Treaty. We will also try to ensure that any changes in Treaty social policy provisions allow full regard to be had to the circumstances and concerns of smaller Community member states. This applies to the extension of qualified majority voting and to other Treaty amendments that may be proposed in the social policy area.
My Department continue to be directly involved in the activities of the International Labour Organisation which now represents some 150 member states. Last year Ireland was elected as a deputy member of the governing body of the ILO. The term of office runs from mid-1990 to mid-1993. We have continuously supported the aims of the ILO to advance the promotion of peace by means of social justice since 1923 when we first became a member. The tripartite principles on which the ILO was established have taken on a special significance in the light of the transition which the economies of Eastern Europe are making towards an enterprise-oriented system.
In accordance with the obligations of our membership a tripartite delegation is sent each year to the International Labour Conference held in Geneva. This year's conference, which was held from 5 to 26 June, adopted a new international instrument on working conditions in hotels, restaurants and similar establishments. An initial discussion took place on the protection of workers' claims in the event of the insolvency of their employer and there was also a general discussion on the application of modern agricultural technology.
The ILO has become increasingly involved in organising technical aid for the less developed countries of the world and in co-ordinating new programmes assisting the reform of the economies of the new democratic states in Eastern and Central Europe.
My Department are responsible for the administration and enforcement of a broad range of protective legislation relating to such areas as unfair dismissal, minimum notice, maternity leave, protection of young persons, holidays, hours of work, overtime and shift work. My Department also provide a comprehensive information service to ensure that employers and employees are aware of their rights and obligations under these laws.
Most of the legislation concerned is of recent origin, but some — the Conditions of Employment Acts, 1936 and 1944, the Night Work [Bakeries] Acts, 1936 and 1981, and the Shops [Conditions of Employment] Acts, 1938 and 1942 — were designed to cope with employment conditions prevailing in a bygone era now outdated to a great extent. A review of these Acts is ongoing. A review of the Unfair Dismissals Act has also been carried out and I will introduce amending legislation in the next session.
The House will be aware that earlier this year the Workers Protection [Regular Part-Time Employees] Act, 1991 came into operation. The provisions of the Act extend to those employees who are normally expected to work not less than eight hours per week for an employer and, where certain other conditions are met, the provisions of Acts in the area of protective legislation. A new Payment of Wages Bill completed its passage through both Houses last night.
My Department enforce a very substantial body of labour legislation including Employment Regulation Orders made under the Industrial Relations Acts. These orders set out minimum pay and conditions in traditionally low-paid or unorganised areas of employment such as clothing, catering, law clerks, hairdressing and agriculture. As a result of inspections carried out by the Labour Inspectorate of my Department approximately £151,000 in arrears of wages was recovered last year. There are at present 14 Employment Regulation Orders in operation and, in order to improve the monitoring and enforcement of these orders, I have recruited an additional four inspectors.
While I am conscious of the necessity to eliminate any undue burdens on employers which may impede their competitiveness and capacity to provide employment, standards that are legally established to safeguard the interests of workers must be implemented. This is particularly true in the case of workers in certain occupations which are vulnerable to exploitation. I am satisfied that the monitoring and inspection procedures in operation by my Department are necessary to ensure that both workers and employers are aware of their rights and responsibilities in regard to the pay and working conditions which should prevail and that these minimum standards are implemented in practice.
As Minister for Labour one of my tasks is to promote the equal entitlement of men and women to employment. Participation by married women in the labour force has risen from around 5 per cent in 1961 to just over 23 per cent in 1989. This increase can be attributed to a number of factors. These include the general rise in real wages, more favourable social attitudes towards women's participation and the impact of employment equality legislation. The declining average family size has had a significant impact as the number and age of dependent children play an important role in determining whether or not women remain in, or return to, the paid labour force.
However, despite the existence of a legislative framework, the Irish labour market is sex-segregated to a marked extent. For instance: women work in certain sectors and occupations, men in others; women hold subordinate positions, men have positions of authority; women work part-time, men full-time; and the work done by women is frequently monotonous and repetitive and can be learned quickly and many women stay in the same job year after year, while men tend to obtain advancement and more varied work. I intend, therefore, in accordance with a commitment in the Programme for Economic and Social Progress to introduce a Bill to amend the Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act, 1974, and the Employment Equality Act, 1977, before the end of the year. This new Bill will increase the effectiveness of our employment equality legislation.
However the traditional approach of legislation is not in itself enough. An effective programme of positive action is also essential. During the past years increasingly emphasis has been placed on positive action at enterprise level. The Employment Equality Agency is also very active in promoting positive action. An example of such an initiative is the system of monitoring which I commenced in State-sponsored bodies. This requires such bodies to devote more attention to equality, to provide to my Department certain baseline data and to indicate their goals and targets for the future. This year the system is being extended to local authorities and health boards.
Another important measure which features in my programme is the active efforts by the manpower agencies to break down traditional barriers between the sexes in the labour market; the best known example is the FÁS positive action programme which aims to encourage increased female participation in growing, future-oriented sectors of the labour market and in sectors traditionally dominated by men. This is particularly important in the light of 1992 and the completion of the internal market. Areas of work with concentrations of low skill, low pay, low technology jobs, the areas where women are most often found, will be particularly vulnerable after 1992. These areas will face greater competition, increased automation because of increased scale, and changing work practices.
At a European level I am pleased that a resolution has been adopted recently on the Third Medium Term Action Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men to cover the years 1991 to 1995. The overall objective of this programme will be to promote women's full participation in, and to revalue their contribution to, economic and social life.
Last year was the first full year of operation of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989. The Health and Safety Authority which was established under the Act has been developing its role as the body charged with overall responsibility for the day-to-day administration and enforcement of the new occupational safety and health system. I welcome the Authority's concentration of their efforts on raising the public awareness of the necessity for good safety and health standards in the workplace. It is quite clear that a significant number of accidents are foreseeable and preventable if the necessary precautions are taken and, to this end, most of the Authority's literature aims to educate workers and employers alike in the maintenance of a safe working environment.
The Authority also embarked on a major advertising campaign involving television and newspaper advertisements nationwide. Successful safety campaigns and unannounced inspections of workplaces were held in areas such as Waterford, Cork and Limerick during the past year. In this regard, special attention was given to the construction sector, with a major safety drive taking place in the greater Dublin area. In addition, with the co-operation of the Health and Safety Executive in the UK, a safety campaign was targeted at young Irish emigrants working on construction sites there.
The Authority have adopted a comprehensive three-year programme of work. I am glad to see they have made good progress already on the activities set out in this programme, particularly in regard to sectors which have now come under safety and health legislation for the first time.
In this regard, advisory committees have been set up by the Authority to make proposals on safety and health in the agricultural, forestry and health care sectors.
Complementing the initiatives which have been taken significant progress was made during 1990 at EC level on a number of important occupational safety and health Directives. We are participating fully in the discussion on a wide range of proposals which form part of the social dimension to the establishment of the Single Market in 1992.
I am satisfied that the new occupational safety and health system which has been put in place together, with the related activities planned by the Authority, will make an important contribution towards the creation by employers, in co-operation with their employees, of a safer and healthier environment in all our workplaces. The picture overall is, therefore, of steady progress in the various areas of my Department's work in industrial relations, safety, training and employment schemes and labour legislation. Employment remains our major challenge and there has been a quick response to the increased unemployment. The Department of Labour are not involved in controlling the employment agencies. We are mainly involved with those who are unemployed and the early school leavers — although we would prefer that they would stay in the education system — and those who wish to get involved in training programmes. The areas I have covered in my speech are where we spend our Exchequer resources and it is right to put on record once a year what is happening to the money and the progress that has been made.
It is clear that our unemployment does not result from any lack of policy response on our part but from events both at home and abroad in the first half of this year, with the slowdown in economic activity because of the recessions in the USA and in the UK. Recession and unemployment are worldwide phenomena at this time.
What is certain is that signs of recovery are already apparent in some economies in the industrialised countries and we hope that recovery will commence in earnest here before the year is out. Our present problems are, therefore, manageable, as the Minister for Finance pointed out this morning. The first half of this year was difficult and the issues have been spelled out inside and outside this House. I agree with some of the things Deputy Rabbitte said. However, when he was listing out the economic achievements in the course of his contribution he omitted to say that we created over 30,000 jobs in the period from April 1989 to April 1990, that there was a 3 per cent growth in employment during this period and that this was higher than the average in the rest of the Community states. All Government policy, and I am sure all Opposition parties' policies, are designed to getting back to that position as quickly as possible.
The Department of Labour and the agencies we are involved with have a direct impact on economic performance. Through industrial relations we try to avoid conflict and disruption to businesses and, through our training agencies, we ensure that people are skilled and are ready to take up the jobs when they are there, and through CERT we ensure that people are trained to service tourism and we undertake to do the job to the best of our ability.
We have a sound economy and the right policies. In order to encourage investment and create jobs we must continue to keep the economy on a sound footing. That is exactly what we intend to do.