Trevor Sargent
Question:44 Mr. Sargent asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress, if any, on the human resources co-ordinating committee established to monitor Structural Funds in Ireland. [27264/98]
Written Answers. - EU Funding.
As part of the ongoing monitoring of European Social (ESF) assistance during the current Structural Funding period 1994-1999, the Community Support Framework (CSF) provided for the establishment of a Human Resources Co-ordinating Committee. The committee is chaired by my Department which is the national authority for the ESF in Ireland and its members are drawn from the various Government Departments and Agencies which implement ESF funded programmes or measures, the European Commission and the social partners.
The committee meets twice a year, in spring and autumn. Its role is to consider horizontal human resources topics across the various operational programmes in the CSF with a view to developing a coherent approach to key issues. In March 1998, the central theme of the meeting was ESF and the long-term unemployed. The committee last met on the 25 September, 1998. The theme of that meeting was human resources needs post 1999 – that is, into the next round of Structural Funding.
The co-ordinating committee, while having no formal decision-taking role, reports directly to the CSF monitoring committee which oversees the Community Support Framework as a whole.