Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 30 Apr 1992

Vol. 418 No. 9

Written Answers. - EC Agreement on Social Policy.

Peter Barry

Question:

50 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Labour if his attention has been drawn to the statement by the British Prime Minister that, by opting out of the social obligations agreed at the Maastricht Summit, British industry will have a competitive advantage over industries in other member states; if he will outline his views on this assessment; and if he agrees with it, if he will further outline the action he proposes to take to protect Irish industry.

Minister for Labour (Mr. Cowen)

The position of the Government in relation to the agreement reached among eleven member states on social policy was set out fully by the former Taoiseach in his statement in Dáil Éireann on 12 December on the outcome of the Maastricht meeting.

The implications of our adherence to the new Protocol on Social Policy agreed at Maastricht will depend on the nature and content of any particular measures which may be brought forward at the initiative of the European Commission.

I would like to emphasise that there are a number of important safeguards within the agreed arrangements. I would like to enumerate some of these safeguards.

The new Treaty contains a strong and comprehensive definition of subsidiarity, a principle which will have to be taken into account in the formulation of social legislation in particular.

In addition, the Agreement on Social Policy, concluded by eleven member states, including Ireland, contains provisions which may be invoked if any proposals are brought forward which contain implications for the competitiveness of the Community, including obviously the conditions in particular member states vis-á-vis the United Kingdom.

There is also a requirement that the Council should have regard to the conditions in each of the member states. The UK, our major trading partner, is not party to the new social policy arrangements. I acknowledge that concern has been expressed about the implications this could have for competition. We expect that this factor will be fully taken into account by the Commission. There is a further requirement that social policy directives must avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal burdens on small and medium sized enterprises in a way which would hold back their creation and development. We will be insisting that all of these requirements are fully observed by the Commission in the formulation of its proposals.

I should also point out that the special arrangements provided for in the Protocol are likely to be used very sparingly as the existing Treaty provisions applicable to social policy will continue to be the norm, and will be used to the greatest extent. I would like to emphasise in this regard that the pre-Maastricht social policy chapter of the Treaty stands and will continue to apply to all twelve member states. It may be expected that the Commission will wish to have social policy arrangements apply to all member states, wherever possible. I am confident that it will, so far as it sees it as legally possible and as likely to be a basis for acceptance by the Council, base its proposals on the pre-Maastricht Treaty articles that will apply to all twelve rather than on the separate agreement among eleven member states.

It will be recalled that some of the proposals for Directives which have given rise to concern on the part of employers, such as those on working time and on maternity rights, were based by the Commission on Article 118A of the Treaty which will continue to apply to the UK, as to other member states. The Portuguese Presidency of the Council has indicated its intention of carrying forward with all due dispatch the processing of these two proposal and of others based on the existing Treaty provisions.

I am convinced that our social policy commitments should be viewed positively and that the overall outcome of the two Intergovernmental Conferences can be judged as very satisfactory. The agreements reached at Maastricht will help to advance the process of European construction. It has, moreover, been the policy approach of successive Irish Governments, endorsed by all the parties to theProgramme for National Recovery and the Programme for Economic andSocial Policy, to strive for the fullest participation by Ireland in every stage of advance towards European integration. While differentiation in regard to specific aspects of Community policies may be appropriate in certain circumstances, any major opt-out from the entirety of major elements of integration would not be in Ireland's interest.