I propose to take Questions Nos. 166 and 168 together.
On 24 May last, the Government decided to publish the Report of the Independent Review of Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreement Wage Setting Mechanisms. The review is a commitment under the EU/IMF programme, which provided not only for agreement with the European Commission on the terms of reference but also for follow up discussions on the programme of actions arising.
The Report's overall finding that the basic framework of the current JLC/REA regulatory system requires radical overhaul so as to make it fairer and more responsive to changing economic circumstances and labour market conditions is consistent with the relevant commitment in the Programme for Government.
I am anxious to pursue the agenda for radical overhaul of the ERO/REA system as a matter of urgency, including proposals dealt with in the report and other issues raised by the report. To this end, I have set out an outline of my proposals for that agenda to the Social Partners, and these have already been the subject of discussion with the Construction Industry Federation, IBEC and ICTU. The membership of delegations from these representative bodies, as well as details of their tenure within these organisations, is a matter for the bodies themselves.
These discussions afforded me the opportunity to hear at first hand the views of the main representative bodies of employers and trade unions on how a meaningful and overdue reform might be implemented in these wage-setting mechanisms, which affect key sectors of our economy, in order to protect existing jobs and encourage employment growth.
In accordance with the terms of the EU/IMF programme, discussions have also taken place with the Commission Services in this regard.
It is my intention to complete discussions with relevant parties by Friday 10 June with a view to submitting a final action plan for consideration by Government before the end of the month.