Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 16 Apr 1997

Vol. 477 No. 6

Written Answers. - Social Exclusion.

Michael Woods

Question:

17 Dr. Woods asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans or proposals, if any, he has to ensure that the struggle against social exclusion is at the top of the agenda in discussions at both Irish and EU level as EU States prepare to approve a new Union treaty in June 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9919/97]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

Over the past two years, a National Anti-Poverty Strategy (NAPS) has been developed, an initiative that is now in its final stage of development. The NAPS is the principal domestic initiative aimed at tackling the problem of social exclusion in Irish society and is expressly designed to ensure that poverty will be among the issues at the top of the national agenda.

Partnership 2000 states that:

"...the parties to the agreement are committed to putting a National Anti-Poverty Strategy in place as soon as possible. Appropriate institutional arrangements will be put in place to support a NAPS, in particular by facilitating consultation, monitoring and evaluation, with a view to securing a targeting of resources and a mainstreaming of poverty issues."

The endorsement of the strategy in the Partnership 2000 national agreement is a clear indication that social exclusion, its causes, effects and repercussions, will be a central concern of both Government and the social partners. Social exclusion is also a reality in virtually every EU member state. As the Deputy is, no doubt, well aware one of the main causes of social exclusion is unemployment. We made a significant contribution, during the Irish Presidency, to focus attention on what can be done, particularly by social protection systems, to combat unemployment.

Drawing on the consensus reached at the informal meeting of Social Affairs Ministers in July, I and my EU colleagues agreed, at Council on 2 December 1996, a Resolution (Ref: Council Resolution 96/C 386/02) which set out the broad principles which would be applied, within national systems, in this regard. Ministers indicated their commitment to develop new approaches aimed at helping to prevent people falling into unemployment; they also indicated that they would co-operate, under the aegis of the Commission, in the exchange of information between member states on practices and policies in this area. Such commitments were directly reflected in the Dublin Declaration on Employment — The Jobs Challenge.

The reality of social exclusion has also been addressed at EU level under three anti-poverty programmes conducted by the Commission since 1975, in which Ireland has fully participated. The Commission presented a proposal to Council in November 1993 for a fourth programme, Poverty 4 to run from 1 July 1994 to 31 December 1999. Agreement for these programmes required unanimity, but this has not been forthcoming in the case of Poverty 4.

One of the main stumbling blocks is concern on the part of two member states that the Council of Ministers does not have the necessary competence under the Treaty to adopt the proposal. The member states concerned continue to maintain that position, the main effect of which is to stymie effective action on social exclusion at EU level.

EU programmes are not a substitute for effective measures to combat social exclusion at national level, of the type which we will be taking under the NAPS. They can, however, provide significant added value to national programmes by encouraging and facilitating co-operation between member states through initiatives aimed at: improving knowledge; developing exchanges of information and best practices; promoting innovative approaches, and evaluating experiences.

It is essential that the question of future EU competence in relation to social exclusion be clarified by an appropriate Treaty revision at the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC). I therefore developed a proposal for a specific Treaty change and arranged to have it tabled at an early stage in the Intergovernmental Conference process by my colleague the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs. This provision, if adopted, would not only provide the necessary competence for appropriate measures to be taken at EU level, but would also make combating social exclusion more central to the objectives of the Community.

Throughout the Irish Presidency, I explained and discussed this proposal at numerous bilateral meetings with other EU social affairs Ministers. I also addressed the European Parliament on the matter which adopted a resolution broadly supportive of our initiative.

I am continuing to keep closely in touch with developments, particularly as the Intergovernmental Conference process is now in its final negotiating phase. I intend taking advantage of my attendance at the meeting of the Social Affairs Council in Luxembourg tomorrow to have further informal discussions with my colleagues on the matter. In the coming weeks, I will be doing whatever is required, in consultation with my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, to bring this initiative to a successful conclusion.

Although adoption of proposals under the Intergovernmental Conference process requires unanimity, I am hopeful from the wide degree of support which has already emerged for an initiative in this area that a clear basis for EU social exclusion measures will be included among the new Treaty provisions.