Vol. 867 No. 3
1. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the reason there are no specific actions in the Action Plan for Jobs to deal with the high corporate debt burden which the action plan identifies as a drag on growth and employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6098/15]
The Action Plan for Jobs has identified high corporate debt burden as a significant risk to economic growth and, in consequence, to job creation. There are no specific actions outlined in the action plan and I want to pursue the Minister's thoughts on this area.
Finance for growth of business is of enormous importance, and a chapter has been devoted to it in Action Plan for Jobs 2015. Irish small and medium enterprises, SMEs, traditionally have had a very high reliance on banks and bank debt. This has been a particular problem in the face of the radical restructuring in our banks and the constraints that has put on lending. Government strategy has therefore focused on a number of strands: improving access to bank credit; developing sources of funding alternative to the traditional banks; and helping enterprises to better manage and structure their financial affairs. As the Deputy is aware, a number of alternative funding sources have been developed, and this year the establishment of the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland is designed to develop new funding products for SMEs and to facilitate new entrants. Its target is to provide €800 million in new finance to SMEs.
The extension of the mandate of the Credit Review Office has been an important support to enterprises experiencing difficulty. It has had a strong track record in overturning bank decisions. The establishment of the State bodies group involving the Central Bank, the Office of the Taoiseach and the Department of Finance along with sectoral agencies and Departments has also ensured a continuing focus on restructuring within the finance sector to meet the needs of SMEs. Targets have been set by the Central Bank for the pillar banks to engage with businesses that require debt restructuring. I understand these targets are being met. We have introduced provisions for SMEs to apply for examinership in the Circuit Court, making it cheaper and easier for them to do so.
As part of the review of the credit guarantee scheme, CGS, and on foot of concerns raised by the Credit Review Office and business representative organisations, I have decided to take action to assist SMEs whose banks have left or are leaving the Irish SME lending market. This will see a new CGS in 2015 in accordance with the terms of the Credit Guarantee Act 2012, which will allow guarantees for refinancing loans where an SME's bank has exited or is exiting the Irish SME market. This new scheme will also increase the maximum length of guarantees under the CGS from three years to seven years.
Continuing to address all finance-related issues for business will remain a priority for this Government, and further actions will be developed to help Irish businesses to grow and prosper.
The last item the Minister mentioned sounds like a worthy scheme. In cases of which I have been made aware, one of the main banks - not a pillar bank - is actively exiting the SME market and trying to sell loans off to various venture or vulture funds. The pillar banks have put facilities in place, but the bank that is exiting the SME market will not accept them. Will the Minister's proposals assist companies that are viable? The two companies I am dealing with, each employing 50 people, face the sale of their bank loans to someone they do not know.
When will the Minister for Finance publish targets for the restructuring of SME debt? They should be published every quarter so that we can see how banks are doing, in the same way as for the mortgage market.
It is precisely as the Deputy outlines. The idea is that the terms of the credit guarantee scheme, which provides a guarantee of up to 75% on the tranche of the loan covered by the guarantee, will change to 80% in the new revision. This will allow the guarantee to be used as an instrument to support businesses in cases in which their bank is exiting. It is to deal with this sort of circumstances the Deputy is dealing with. We are working to introduce that in the Dáil as quickly as possible.
The Minister for Finance has answered questions on the targets. The Central Bank sets those targets. It has reported that they are on track. There is relevant information in the banks' annual reports, which the Deputy could read. The Central Bank certainly sees the setting of targets as an important aspect of helping distressed SME borrowers into a long-term sustainable position. I do not have the details on when the additional targets will be published.
The credit guarantee scheme and its revision have been announced as often as I have had hot breakfasts. Will it be done this session? Will it be done before Easter? The scheme was identified as flawed in October 2013, when the Department reviewed it. The new element the Minister has introduced this morning is absolutely vital and urgent because the bank I am referring to, which is one of the main players, is actively putting loans on the market. People need protection.
The Minister and the Government are sleepwalking while many small businesses are being destroyed by legacy debt. They are willing to face up to it and enter into a package. The two pillar banks are putting facilities in place, but while we await a solution exactly as the Minister has outlined, our hands are tied and we can do nothing. Debts are being sold week by week and the scheme will be too late. Will the revised credit guarantee scheme with this new element be introduced before the Easter recess?
There is no question of the Government sleepwalking. Every year we introduce a new initiative. This year the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland will provide new access to €800 million of credit for SMEs. We have extended the mandate of the Credit Review Office every year, so it now deals with loans of up to €3 million. Reviewing a guarantee is complex legislation because it involves the taxpayer underwriting commitments entered into by others. There are delicate legal issues that must be dealt with in introducing such legislation. We are making sure we get it right. I assure the Deputy that we are dealing with this as a matter of extreme urgency.
2. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide the socioeconomic backgrounds of persons supported by Enterprise Ireland; and the actions being utilised to ensure that persons from lower income brackets are being helped to set up new businesses. [6345/15]
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is researching the experience of women in enterprise. We are also investigating the response of State organisations to women in enterprise. People from low or low-to-middle income backgrounds also have difficulties with regard to enterprise. What supports is the Government providing to ensure that this sector of society has full access to enterprise?
Under the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government has published an array of actions designed to ensure full employment by 2018. The plan also contains a suite of actions to promote entrepreneurship, to encourage people to start their own businesses and to help individuals with a viable business idea to access crucial start-up funding. These supports are of course available to all individuals regardless of their socioeconomic background. In order to facilitate easy access to such programmes, the Department has established a network of 31 local enterprise offices, LEOs, located within local authorities as a first-stop shop to access all Government programmes. The LEOs have protocols in place with the Department of Social Protection, SOLAS, the Revenue Commissioners and other agencies to ensure persons from all backgrounds can get the help they need in an accessible way. These include access to back to work enterprise allowances, minor support grants and secondary benefits for people who have been out of work. Services offered by the LEO network include training and mentoring of those whose business experience may be limited so that they can get appropriate support and guidance.
In addition, it supports applications by clients to Microfinance Ireland. This source of lending is specifically designed for persons who do not have easy access to the banking system. Local enterprise offices have a service level agreement with Enterprise Ireland which specifically provides for seamless access for LEO clients to other Enterprise Ireland programmes.
It is encouraging that we are seeing good growth in start-ups and in the ambition of people to start a business. There were approximately 18,000 new business registrations last year. One of the objectives of our entrepreneurship strategy is to see an increase in the number of people from what might be regarded as disadvantaged backgrounds and other under-represented groups who start their own businesses.
I welcome the Minister of State's answer. In fairness, he has indicated a number of actions that are being used to help people who have been unemployed or who have had difficulties obtaining finance. Many sectors have experienced unemployment and difficulty in obtaining finance and, as such, it is not the fact that people's immediate financial experience might place them in the low-paid bracket that I am necessarily trying to get at. The Minister of State probably knows what I am trying to get at. I am trying to find out what can be done in future to ensure that the energy, enthusiasm, skills and ability of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds can be harnessed for the benefit of enterprise. For example, when women have difficulties gaining access to enterprise, it means we are shutting out 50% of the skills available to the State to grow the economy. What research has been done on the socioeconomic backgrounds of the individuals who are accessing the supports the State is providing? If we could obtain those statistics, we could then start to provide specific supports for people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, just as we do for women.
This is an area that concerns me and the Tánaiste. The establishment of Intreo offices has been very positive. The Department of Social Protection has moved from what might be termed a passive payment model to an activation model. Staff in Intreo offices are very linked in with local enterprise offices and other agencies to ensure that people who have business ideas get the support they need, whether through LEOs or SOLAS, to establish their businesses or test their ideas. Deputy Tóibín and I are on the same page regarding the view that a person's socioeconomic circumstances should never be a barrier to accessing business opportunities. There is an old adage that there is a good book in everyone, but I also consider that there is a good business idea in everyone, if it could only be brought out by those who can provide support and mentorship. There are start-your-own-business courses operated by Leader partnership companies and the back to work enterprise allowance is a further important initiative. We included particular measures in the last budget, including the start-up relief entrepreneurship scheme, which is very positive for those moving from the PAYE sector into their own businesses. Protocols have been established between the Department of Social Protection, LEOs and Enterprise Ireland to support people from lower-income backgrounds, particularly those moving from welfare to work, to help them establish their own businesses. Microfinance Ireland plays a significant role in assisting entrepreneurs who have difficulty accessing capital on foot of issues around collateral and helps them to set up their own businesses at a micro level.
While I appreciate what the Minister of State has said, the first thing we need to do is to measure exactly what is happening within the system. If one cannot measure, one cannot manage. If we do not have the statistics to identify exactly the incidence of success and failure, it is very hard to put things in place. There is a seeding ground for enterprise which involves those who are the sons and daughters of entrepreneurs themselves, people from middle management in companies, people with a high level of education and those with access to finance. Geography is also an enormous factor because of the issue of access to markets. I call on the Government to implement a method of obtaining the necessary statistics to provide us with a clear insight into the incidence of entrepreneurship at all levels of society and to establish an implementation group to ensure that the tools the Government is currently using can be added to if necessary to allow us to harness the energies of everyone in society.
A customer service review is being undertaken with LEOs. The Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, and I are determined to ensure that those metrics are very strong. We have come from a position of massively high unemployment and our aim is to get unemployment under 10% by the end of the year with a view to moving towards full employment. As such, there is an understanding across the agencies in the system that a strong effort is required to encourage people to move from welfare to work, including opportunities for people to establish their own businesses. That data is very important. It is not something I have at my fingertips at the moment, but to the best of my knowledge it is available across the system. Deputy Tóibín is absolutely right that we need to have proper metrics where we are trying to crack a problem. I take that on board. However, there are a range of programmes across the country that are designed to bring people from welfare into a position in which they are setting up their own businesses. For example, I am familiar in my own constituency with the IgnYte programme, which is supported by the Department of Social Protection and my own Department and operated by a local education development agency working with The Mill enterprise centre in Drogheda. The programme aims to encourage people to set up their own businesses when they are moving from welfare to work.
A lot of this is about changing the culture and people's expectations of themselves. Everyone can start up a business and there should not be any socioeconomic barriers to doing so. We are all determined to ensure that any barriers are removed.
3. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of new jobs created in companies supported by IDA Ireland; the number of jobs lost in agency-supported companies; the number of site visits organised by the agency in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 in Tipperary north, Tipperary south and County Tipperary as a whole; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6180/15]
The Government has abandoned job creation in County Tipperary over the last four years. Yesterday, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, announced a regional strategy which excluded the county and further disadvantaged its towns. What specific steps does the Minister intend to take to create jobs in County Tipperary? I ask him to urgently and immediately amend the plan he announced yesterday to ensure that it includes County Tipperary and its towns.
I assure the Deputy that every county, including Tipperary, is included in our regional strategy. No one is excluded. The annual employment survey shows that 68 jobs were created and 77 were lost among IDA client companies in Tipperary in 2012. In 2013, 202 jobs were created while 521 were lost, and in 2014, 64 jobs were created while 62 were lost. In the same three-year period, there were a total of 12 site visits to County Tipperary: five in 2012, four in 2013 and three in 2014. For reasons of client confidentiality and commercial sensitivity, including the potential impact on any future property transactions that might arise from a possible investment, it is prudent to provide details of such visits on a county-by-county basis only, although the Deputy sought details for different parts of the county. While the IDA seeks to influence the choice of location, decisions on where to visit and where to locate are taken in all cases by the investor.
Since the economic crash, enterprises have been undergoing a difficult transition. Jobs in many sectors have proved unsustainable. For example, the number of people employed in construction in Tipperary fell by 4,800 during the crash. Progress is now being made, however. Employment in companies supported by both IDA and Enterprise Ireland grew in Tipperary in 2014 for the first time since the crash. In the last four years, unemployment levels have fallen in Tipperary by 2,754, which is a decrease of 16%. More needs to be done to build on this trend. The Action Plan for Jobs has been designed to introduce measures right across the Government to support job growth and reduce unemployment. We are determined to ensure that every region will benefit from the recovery.
Yesterday, I announced with the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste the details of a comprehensive new strategy to support enterprise growth and job creation at regional level. The regional Action Plan for Jobs initiative seeks to build on the success of the annual Action Plan for Jobs at national level by developing locally driven plans that can build on the strengths and opportunities identified in each region. The strategy will provide up to €250 million over five years in additional funding to support regional enterprise development. This includes the roll-out of a five-year €150 million property investment programme by the IDA to attract foreign direct investment into the regions. This programme will build on the recent investment by the IDA in a number of advance manufacturing facilities in regional locations. A further sum of up to €100 million will be available to Enterprise Ireland to support enterprises in the regions in starting up, growing and exporting, thereby creating more jobs in regional locations.
Unemployment figures in County Tipperary are well in excess of 14,000, which is significantly above the national average. Towns like Carrick-on-Suir and Nenagh, which did not benefit from the Celtic tiger, now find themselves with unemployment levels that are more than double the national average.
In respect of job creation by IDA companies in 2014, a mere 64 jobs were created in the county, 48 in south Tipperary and 16 in north Tipperary. In 2014, 78% of all IDA jobs were created in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway while 64 out of 15,000 jobs were created in County Tipperary. The county has been abandoned and forgotten about by the Government. Yesterday's announcement further disadvantages the county. What specific steps will the Minister take to ensure that job creation is available for the towns of Tipperary?
I point out to the Deputy that the IDA employment is about 5% of total employment in Tipperary. A total of 95% of enterprise and employment is outside that sector. The Deputy's sole focus on foreign investment undersells the huge amount of enterprise in Tipperary and the south east. Employment levels in the south east have grown by 18,000 in the past two and a half years. There is a strong recovery there.
The Deputy quotes figures for the IDA. I could quote figures for Enterprise Ireland. A total of 85% of new jobs related to Enterprise Ireland are outside Dublin. We are seeing strong growth in our regions based on our own enterprises which is the future we need to develop. This regional enterprise strategy strengthens the backbone of property options available in every region and also sets out a challenge and opportunity for our regions, including Tipperary, to identify areas of opportunity and to plan actions that will implement and realise those opportunities. I invite the Deputy to participate in that programme because it will respond to the needs of enterprise in his area, seek to get collaboration and provide new money to underpin such collaboration.
The Minister's announcement yesterday says nothing about towns in Tipperary. It talks about the investment over the coming years in building advance manufacturing and office facilities in Sligo, Tralee, Castlebar, Galway, Dundalk, Limerick, Athlone, Carlow and Waterford. There is no mention of any town in Tipperary or the building of advance factories or office facilities on any of the sites that are available throughout the county, in Tipperary town, Archerstown in Thurles, Lisboney in Nenagh, Benamore at Roscrea, Clonmel, Cashel or Carrick-on-Suir. It is quite obvious that there is no commitment to job creation for County Tipperary through IDA companies into the future. I want to see the plan the Minister announced yesterday amended to include County Tipperary specifically.
I think the Deputy is talking nonsense. One fifth of the money we presented yesterday is going to a number of advance facilities in the six regions outside the Dublin area. In each region, 80% of the revenue will be available for other solutions in which every county and region can participate. However, the Deputy insists on taking a very narrow view of where employment growth will come from. Yes, foreign investment has a role to play but the Deputy should talk to his own enterprises. Where are the opportunities in Tipperary? The food sector is having a fantastic period of growth. Many Irish companies are investing in the future because milk quotas are coming to an end. Glanbia has made investments which it expects will leverage 1,600 additional people at work providing milk and transporting and supporting that enterprise. There are huge opportunities that each region can build. The Deputy insists on taking a very narrow focus on where enterprise grows. Employment is growing in the south east and the mid-west and we need to build on that. People like the Deputy need to get behind those people with new ideas and see how they can be realised. That is what this is about. There is money out there for ideas to come forward from the regions which we will support on the basis of the best quality proposals. I invite the Deputy to participate in a real opportunity for our regions instead of just griping about what is going on.
4. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to raise the take-home pay and working conditions of low-income workers; if this will include changes to the existing protection for persons on zero hours contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6271/15]
Could the Minister of State confirm the time line for the low pay commission? I know he has asked the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to begin pre-legislative scrutiny on the minimum wage Bill. I want to focus our discussion zero-hours contracts. Will they be the subject of separate action on the part of the Minister of State and will they come under the remit of the low pay commission? In particular, I want to see what work is under way at European level around zero-hours contracts, which are becoming a very unfortunate phenomenon of the economic recovery.
The Government is taking a number of initiatives to ensure that the economic recovery that is under way is benefiting all citizens and that the jobs we are helping to create are decent jobs with decent pay. The setting up of a low pay commission is one of the key commitments in the statement of Government priorities agreed last July.
The principal function of the low pay commission will be to examine and make recommendations each year to the Minister on the national minimum wage with a view to ensuring that the national minimum wage, where adjusted, is adjusted incrementally having had regard to changes in earnings, productivity, overall competitiveness and the likely impact any adjustment will have on employment and unemployment levels.
Alongside examining the national minimum wage, the low pay commission will also be tasked with examining matters related generally to the functions of the commission under the Act. This work programme will be agreed by Government and presented to the commission in February of each year. In addition, in the discharging of its function, the commission will be required to make recommendations that are evidence-based using a suite of agreed data sets or, where required, based on bespoke research undertaken at the behest of the commission. It is intended that the interim membership will constitute the commission when it is established on a statutory basis. A particular function of the commission will be to ensure that any advice or recommendations it makes to Government is evidence-based utilising agreed data; carrying out research and consultations with employers, workers and their representatives; and taking written and oral evidence from a wide range of organisations.
With a view to ensuring that the low pay commission is in a position to carry out its functions as soon as possible, the commission, in the first instance, will be established on an interim basis in the next few weeks. Legislation to provide for the establishment of the low pay commission on a statutory basis will be published as soon as possible thereafter with a view to its enactment as soon as possible in 2015.
Another key commitment of Government provided for in the statement of Government priorities is the commissioning of a study into the prevalence of zero-hours and low-hours contracts and the impact of such contracts on employees. Earlier this week, I announced the appointment of the University of Limerick to carry out the study. The appointment of UL follows a competitive tendering process. The key objectives of the study are to fill the gap that currently exists in terms of the hard data in that area, to assess the impact of zero-hours and low-hours contracts on employees and to enable me to make any evidence-based policy recommendations I can to Government on foot of the study. I have asked the group to come back to me with specific recommendations pertaining to the three pieces of legislation in particular that govern this area.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
All sectors of the economy, both public and private, will come within the scope of the study, including the retail, hospitality, education and health sectors in particular. The study will examine how zero-hours and low-hours contracts operate in practice and how they impact on employees. It will assess the advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of employer and employee and assess the current employment rights legislation as it applies to employees on such contracts. The study will also consider recent developments in other jurisdictions, including the UK in particular.
It is expected that a wide range of stakeholders will be canvassed to contribute to the study, including employers, trade unions, relevant Departments and relevant State bodies. I expect the study to be completed within six months of commencement. While I do not want to anticipate the outcome of the study or the Government's consideration of the study's findings, I have made it clear that if the study finds such work contracts have a serious and detrimental impact on citizens then the Government will act.
In respect of the UL group, will there be public consultation or will it focus primarily on research and data? Will the group have the chance to speak to workers? Zero-hours contracts are not completely bad if there are some companies that need them, but some companies are abusing them and treating workers like the navvies in England - wait on a corner and see whether a man comes along and picks you up. We cannot allow that to happen. We must have some respect and dignity for workers. It is important that whatever solution we come up with does not throw everything out. It is also important that it is pursued at European level because there is no sense in us having one set of protections while there are completely different rules in another part of the jurisdiction that are used as a competitive advantage and workers' conditions are used by companies to gain competitive advantage in what is an increasingly cruel global market.
We know from the Office for National Statistics in the UK and work carried out annually by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development that there are about 32,000 zero-hours contracts in Northern Ireland. Those figures are very worrying. We have a different system here where the protections of the Organisation of Working Time Act are applied to people in certain circumstances. There has been huge debate nationally and internationally on this.
The Deputy will agree there is hard data evidence to indicate to us the extent and prevalence of this problem. We have widened the study out to include low-hour contracts, contracts of eight hours or under, which are possibly more common than zero-hour contracts. There is a significant debate about this issue both nationally and internationally. People in Ireland will be familiar with the debate in the UK where it is believed there are approximately 1.4 million such contracts in operation. We want to ensure the jobs we are creating are decent, sustainable and pay well. We want to ensure work pays and that it conforms to my dignity of work and dignity at work agenda, an agenda to which the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste and the Minister for Social Protection are committed.
One area where zero-hour contracts are used is retail. Will the Minister of State express his views, if he wishes to, on the position of the largest retail company in the country writing to all of its workers, distancing itself from a Labour Court recommendation? The Labour Court has been the foundation of our industrial relations policy since its establishment. While its recommendations are not binding, the notion that its recommendations can be treated with such disdain by one of the largest retail employers is wrong. I accept the Minister of State may not be in a position to express his views on this. However, the fact the company has written to every one of its employees advising them of adverse consequences if they pursue proper industrial relations avenues is a sad day for Irish business.
We always need to be very conscious of areas such as this. I am aware of developments in the particular firm in question and its engagement, or lack thereof, with the trade union representing its workers. It would be unwise of me to comment any further as the situation is evolving.
From the Government’s perspective, we would always encourage Labour Court recommendations to be respected. The Labour Court is a very key piece of our industrial relations machinery and is very important for harmonious industrial relations between employers and employees. It is an important institution of the State that has served us well and is respected by everyone. It should never be undermined in any way. Developments in the company in question are concerning. Suffice to say, the Government always encourages, hopes and expects that all parties involved in the industrial relations machinery of the State will respect its recommendations and proposals.
5. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will withdraw his stated support for the inclusion in the transatlantic trade and investment partnership negotiations of a new investor state dispute settlement mechanism, which allows corporations to sue Governments for loss of revenue, bypassing the Irish courts, when Government regulations are seen to affect expected profits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5842/15]
Will the Minister provide an update on the transatlantic trade and investment partnership negotiations and, specifically, the proposed investor state dispute settlement mechanism?
The purpose of the negotiations on a transatlantic trade and investment partnership, TTIP, is to reduce barriers to trade and investment in order to generate jobs and growth. Based on European Commission estimates, an ambitious TTIP could generate 400,000 jobs. The gains for Ireland could be double this in proportionate terms, approximately 8,000 additional jobs, because of the significant flows of trade between Ireland and the US.
The scope of the European Commission’s mandate to negotiate with the United States on a TTIP includes investment protection and investor state dispute settlement, ISDS. The aim is to promote more two-way investment between the US and EU with high standards of protection for investors. This mandate has been supported by all member states, including Ireland. All of the EU’s free trade agreements seek to provide EU investors abroad with a level of protection similar to that which they would obtain in the EU. This is important for Irish investors abroad.
Ireland does not have bilateral investment treaties. In Ireland, guarantees to investors that they will not be treated in a discriminatory manner are provided by virtue of Article 43 of our Constitution. However, in other EU member states this protection is provided through bilateral investment treaties with third countries that include ISDS. Nine member states have such treaties with the US. TTIP would replace these.
International experience points to a wide disparity of bilateral investment agreement provisions. Some cases taken by investors under some of these have justifiably brought criticism of ISDS as a mechanism. The TTIP negotiations give the EU an opportunity to make improvements and create a new generation ISDS model that addresses the weaknesses identified in other agreements. Indeed, the existing mandate already provides important provisions protecting the right of government to regulate sectors. I support the European Commission in its continuing work to modify and improve the existing models and through the public consultation which it has conducted.
In the case of the recently concluded negotiations between the EU and Canada, for example, a breach of the fair and equitable treatment obligation could only arise when there is denial of justice in criminal, civil or administrative proceedings; a fundamental breach of due process, including a fundamental breach of transparency, in judicial and administrative proceedings; manifest arbitrariness; targeted discrimination on manifestly wrongful grounds, such as gender, race or religious belief; or abusive treatment of investors, such as coercion, duress and harassment. In addition, in the Canada agreement, there is provision for a list of arbitrators pre-agreed by the EU and Canada.
The European Commission has indicated it will engage in further consultations with member states, the European Parliament and other stakeholders and that, following these consultations, it will develop specific proposals for the TTIP negotiations. I very much welcome this approach and it is important to take time to have open and constructive discussion following the Commission’s report that will inform the next steps. At this stage, there are no negotiations taking place with the United States on this aspect of the proposed agreement. Ultimately, this element, as indeed other elements of the mandate, will only be included if the overall outcome is satisfactory to the EU.
There are serious and significant concerns about these negotiations in a variety of areas, including the prospect of the displacement of 1 million jobs in the European Union which will affect this country too. There is a concern that low-grade, hormone-injected and genetically modified beef products from the US may gain access to the Irish market. Questions have arisen about the investor state dispute mechanism which would appear to undermine the democratic foundations of the State. Questions have also arisen over the reduction in wages and conditions of employment for workers. There is considerable concern that transnational corporations could bypass the courts through the dispute resolution mechanism.
The idea of low-grade or genetically modified beef coming into Europe has been explicitly excluded in the mandate. That is not an eventuality that the EU would countenance. In respect of wages and employment conditions, the Department has commissioned some research into this which indicates there would be benefits through improvements in wages, employment, exports and growth. The balance sheet is positive on all aspects of employment and working conditions.
I recognise there are concerns in any trade negotiations because barriers will come down. Obviously, those sectors behind some large barriers will face more competition. Other opportunities, however, will arise in sectors where Europe can now get into US markets, where previously there were substantial barriers to European businesses. It is a two-way process and there will always be some level of trading to be agreed. Both sides will have to be satisfied that the reduction in trade barriers is an improvement. Every assessment would show the reduction of such barriers improves the opportunities in both countries. Trade barriers are not helpful by pushing up costs and representing a loss. While I understand the Deputy’s concerns, these are negotiations which will be done in a very open and transparent way and people will have an opportunity to input into them.
There is a concern these negotiations are secret. Is the Minister prepared to advise the Dáil on an ongoing, say quarterly, basis on the conduct and the progress of these negotiations?
As Deputy Mick Wallace has a later question on this very topic, I do not want to encroach on it now. Suffice to say, these have been very open negotiations. There are briefings after every session and the information is available on the public record to Members of the European Parliament. I have engaged in several consultations with the relevant committees. I am happy to appear before any committee again at any point on these discussions.
