Skip to main content
Normal View

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 17 Oct 1995

Vol. 457 No. 1

Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers - Central Review Committee Meetings.

Mary Harney

Question:

2 Miss Harney asked the Taoiseach when the next meeting of the Central Review Committee will meet to discuss the implementation of the Programme for Competitiveness and Work. [14460/95]

The next meeting of the Central Review Committee will take place on Thursday, 26 October 1995.

When did the last meeting take place?

The meetings generally take place on a bi-monthly cycle. The last meeting took place on 21 September last.

Has the group carried out an evaluation of the job performance targets recommended in the Programme for Competitiveness and Work?

That is one of the matters with which the group is dealing, employment related issues are dealt with at all its meetings. I have the minutes of the meeting of 21 September before me which show that employment related issues were raised at that meeting.

The Central Review Committee has a work programme, the main items of which are as follows: in October it proposes to deal with macroeconomic policy and taxation strategy; in December with services sector development; in February with small business development; in April with local development policies; in June with social equity; and in July with further development of the partnership approach.

Have the Taoiseach or other Government representatives any plans to comment at next Thursday's meeting of the Central Review Committee on the warning of the SIPTU president, Mr. Billy Attlee, to the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Deputy Lowry, not to endanger co-operation with the unions in the semi-State bodies? Would the Taoiseach accept what has been said in the semi-State sector in recent days? The Central Review Committee spends much time discussing that sector——

We are having an injection of new matter which can arise later.

Having spent seven years dealing with the Central Review Committee, I would not have thought the question of the semi-State sector was an injection of new matter. The Central Review Committee talks about hardly anything else.

There is very definitely new matter here, and the Deputy knows it.

Does the Taoiseach accept that the approach of the Minister, Deputy Lowry, has caused serious annoyance to both management and unions in one of our best semi-State companies, the ESB, and to the worker directors on the CIE board of directors?

That can wait until a later stage in our proceedings. I am calling Question No. 3.

The Taoiseach has no comment to make.

If the Deputy would ask a proper question, I would answer it.

Top
Share