Written Answers Nos. 20-29
20. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the measures he or the Industrial Development Authority have taken to ensure that a plant (details supplied) in County Tipperary will become a source of local employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5851/15]
View answerI am informed by IDA Ireland that the former Johnson and Johnson/Alza plant in Cashel is in the process of changing hands. It is my understanding that discussions between the company (J&J) and a private investment entity are currently on-going. IDA Ireland has asked J&J to connect them with the new owner and the company has committed to do so at an appropriate time. IDA Ireland is prepared to work with the new owners to try to deliver high value sustainable jobs for Cashel. I’m sure that the Deputy will appreciate that it would be inappropriate for me to comment further at this stage.
In County Tipperary as a whole there are 11 IDA Ireland client companies employing 3,370 people in full and part time employment. Cashel, located as it is in South Tipperary, is marketed by IDA Ireland as part of the South East Region, along with the counties of Waterford, Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny. The main clusters which have emerged in the South East are high value manufacturing (pharmaceutical, medical devices and engineering) and International Financial Services.
As the Deputy is aware, the Action Plan for Jobs 2015 was launched on 29th January. This is the fourth annual plan in a multi-year process, which started in 2012. When the First Action Plan for Jobs was launched, unemployment stood at 15.1%. Today it stands at 10.6% and we are on track to exceed our target of 100,000 additional jobs by 2016. We are now setting a goal to bring employment to 2.1 million by 2018 – 2 years ahead of our original target.
We are determined to ensure that every region will benefit from the recovery. Yesterday, along with the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, I announced 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 process 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 to start-up, grow and export, thereby creating more jobs in regional locations.
21. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on the progress of the 2015 year of Irish design and how the initiative interacts and impacts on his Department and its activities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6072/15]
View answerI officially announced and launched the Irish Design 2015 (ID2015) core programme of activities in December 2014. The initiative sees Irish design and designers being celebrated and promoted here in Ireland and internationally through a year-long programme of activity. With a global reach, it aims to create 1800 jobs and 200 new businesses by promoting Ireland as a hub for design excellence and by encouraging investment in design as a key component of competitiveness and innovation. ID2015 presents a comprehensive programme of over 300 Irish and international events exploring, promoting and celebrating Irish design in just about every form. As part of ID2015, Dublin has been designated World Design Hub 2015 by the International Association of Designers, providing Ireland with a platform to promote the skills and talents of Irish designers to a worldwide audience.
Highlights of the programme include:
- Ireland’s largest international trade fair Showcase: Ireland’s Creative Expo ® took place in Dublin in January, attracting over 5000 buyers from Ireland and up to 26 countries and generated up to €20 million in sales orders.
- The work of 20 Irish designers and makers was presented in an Irish Design pavilion at the premier French tradeshow Maison et Objet which took place in Paris during the last week in January.
- Design Island, a new photographic exhibition at Dublin Airport celebrating Irish creativity as part of ID2015, will be seen by more than 21 million passengers by the end of 2015. Design Island features a series of 300 photographs by award winning Irish photographer Peter Rowen capturing 24 designers and craft practitioners at work in their studios all over Ireland.
- To coincide with ID2015, Ireland has been announced as the inaugural Focus Country for the London Festival of Architecture, which takes place during the month of June 2015, presenting the work of 5 Irish practices working in the architecture and built environment sector.
- The Coach House at Dublin Castle will be a design hub for ID2015, showcasing Irish and international design exhibitions from partners including Design Museum London and Vitra Design Museum, Germany. The current exhibition, In the Making, has travelled from the Design Museum in London.
- Throughout the year, the work of Irish designers will be presented at international events such as Milan and Dutch Design Weeks, London Festival of Architecture, London and Paris Fashion Weeks, London Design Festival, Chicago Architecture Biennial and Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture in Hong Kong/Shenzhen.
- In its programme of overseas trade missions, as well as at the above international events, Enterprise Ireland will develop opportunities to promote Irish design and design companies.
Highlights in the coming weeks include:
- Ireland’s inaugural participation in the International Fashion Showcase during London Fashion Week will see the work of 8 emerging Irish designers presented during the festival, from 20 - 24 February.
- In partnership with ID2015 “Better Business by Design”, the IBEC 2015 Annual CEO Conference, will take place in Dublin Castle on 4th March, featuring international and national keynote speakers who will stimulate debate and provide fresh insights into creative confidence and innovation.
In addition, funding opportunities have been included in the programme. A Design Innovation Fund will see the initiation of a diverse range of projects such as workshops, conferences and events which will have a strategic impact on the development of supports for design companies and SMEs. An International Trade Fund will also enable Irish designers and companies to access international markets and create export opportunities.
22. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide details of the role his Department and its constituent organisations play in terms of the creation of local economic and community plans, with which local authorities have been tasked; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6075/15]
View answerIn developing the local economic and community plans, local authorities are required under guidelines issued by my colleague, the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government, under the Local Government Reform Act 2014, to work closely with organisations such as the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Enterprise Ireland, and IDA Ireland, and to continue to engage with the Action Plan for Jobs process. Under Action Plan for Jobs 2015, which I recently launched, it is intended to develop and publish a suite of Regional Enterprise Strategies, based on consultation with key stakeholders at regional level over the coming months. I expect that these strategies, and the consultation that underpins them, will be reflected in the Local Economic and Community Plans.
Enterprise Ireland is the agency under my aegis with responsibility for the development of Irish enterprise, deepening Ireland’s footprint in world markets, and supporting employment creation in our economy. It is expected that the local economic and community plans will take account of Enterprise Ireland’s own regional strategies. Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland do not have a formal consultative role but will be inputting to all of the local economic and community plans.
The 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), established in April last year, combine the functions of the former County Enterprise Boards and the Business Development expertise of the Local Authorities. Enterprise Ireland is working with each county’s Local Enterprise Office to produce a quality enterprise development plan on an annual basis.
Each LEO Head of Enterprise sits on the Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) in their area, and that Committee is tasked with the creation of the Local Economic and Community Plans. I fully expect therefore that each Local Enterprise Office plan will feed into the wider Local Economic and Community Plans.
23. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the measures he plans to pursue to address the high rate of underemployment here. [5848/15]
View answerThe Action Plan for Jobs since 2012 has set a comprehensive set of measures agreed by Government to promote job opportunities and employment growth in all parts of the country. The 2015 Action Plan for Jobs was launched on January 29th.
The Action Plan process is working. Almost 80,000 more people are at work since the launch of the first Action Plan for Jobs in 2012. This increase has not been in “precarious” or temporary jobs. While the proportion of Irish workers who are on temporary contracts rose slightly during the recession, reaching 10.5% in 2011, it has since fallen back to the pre-recession level of 9.5%, and remains significantly below the EU average of 14.4%. The CSO data for January 2015 indicates that the share of casual and part-time workers on the Live Register was down -11.0% on January 2014, equivalent to 8,873 workers. The cumulative decrease is 15,839 workers since January 2013.
Indigenous exports and foreign direct investment are at all-time record levels. Our competitiveness ranking internationally has climbed to 15th. The rate of unemployment has declined from a peak of 15.1 per cent at the start of 2012 to below 10.6 per cent at end 2014. In 2014, client companies of Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland created 8,476 and 7,131 net new jobs respectively; this represents the highest levels of net new job creation by agency client companies in over a decade and most of this employment growth was in full-time employment.
The Action Plan for Jobs 2015 will be a further step along the way in meeting this medium-term goal for Ireland. The themes in this year’s Action Plan for Jobs build on the reforms of previous years in the areas of competitiveness, innovation and entrepreneurship and in fostering new sources of growth for the economy.
The 2015 Action Plan contains a suite of 380 actions to ensure we deliver the promised 100,000 additional jobs by 2016, with the target to create 40,000 jobs this year. Specifically, in 2015, Enterprise Ireland will target the creation of 13,000 gross new full-time jobs in indigenous firms. IDA Ireland will target the creation of 14,000 gross new jobs in multinationals. It is estimated that every direct job created in agency assisted firms indirectly supports another job in the wider economy thereby making a strong contribution to the overall target of getting to full employment in 2018.
Existing legislation states that part-time employees may not be treated in a less favourable manner than a comparable full-time employee unless there are objective reasons for such treatment, provides specific protection for employees on zero hours contracts, and provides rights regarding equality of treatment to temporary agency workers, many of whom may be part-time workers.
The vast majority of jobs created in tandem with the APJ process have been full-time and well paid. Nevertheless we are anxious to better understand instances where this is not the case. In this regard, the Action Plan for Jobs for 2015 firstly sets commitments to establish the Low Pay Commission, which is to undertake analysis and make a recommendation on the appropriate level of the national minimum wage.
Secondly, under the APJ, my Department has commissioned the University of Limerick a study on the prevalence of zero hour contracts and low hour contracts (contracts of 8 hours or less per week (LHC) among Irish employers and their impact on employees, and make policy recommendations to Government. The team from the Department of Personnel and Employment Relations in the Kemmy School of Business in UL is expected to report back within six months with its findings and also recommendations for policy change, should they be warranted.
All sectors of the economy are expected to come within the scope of the study; however, a particular focus will be on the retail, hospitality, education and health sectors. The study is expected to cover both the public and private sectors.
24. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the supports available to persons when a large-scale redundancy takes place, specifically those supports available to people in the midlands region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6100/15]
View answerIn the past, in the case of major closures, the main recourse has been to ask the main Development Agencies - IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland - to redouble their efforts to secure new projects for the affected area, no matter where the location, and to explore all opportunities to replace the jobs being lost and thereby find a replacement industry for the area. In such circumstances, the global IDA team and Enterprise Ireland coordinate their work to seek a new occupier for the former factory, and to highlight the skills-base of the affected workforce. In the case of some recent significant job losses in regional centres, I have arranged that the key State players immediately come together to coordinate the State’s response to the closure. Such a group would usually include Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, DSP, Solas, Education and Training Board, Local Enterprise Office (LEO) and relevant Local Authority.
For individuals seeking to start their own business, the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are the first-stop-shop service in providing information to anyone seeking to develop a business idea. The LEOs can provide information and guidance on all the supports across the Government system. The LEOs are the first port of call in terms of advice, direction, training, and, in certain circumstances, grant support for anyone who wishes to start or expand a business, particularly following a company closure when affected employees are seeking an alternative source of employment. Contact details for the LEOs are available at www.localenterprise.ie.
A protocol agreement is in place between the enterprise development agencies and the Department of Social Protection (DSP) as part of the ‘Pathways to Work’ initiative. This sets out a number of mechanisms designed to enhance co-operation between the agencies and DSP. This arrangement includes:
- Active marketing of DSP supports and incentives to client companies,
- Sharing information about project announcements,
- Organising specific events around the services and incentives available to hire unemployed people.
If relevant, the services of NERA, the State Employment Rights body, are at the disposal of the workers concerned if employment rights issues need to be pursued.
Finally, with regard to Regional Enterprise Development, under the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs which I launched recently, it is intended to develop and publish a suite of Regional Enterprise Strategies, based on consultation with key stakeholders at regional level and on the analysis of the strengths of each region. The process will commence with the publication of strategies for the Midlands and South East regions. Similar strategies for the other regions will be commenced over the course of the year on a phased basis. All strategies will include specific actions for all the enterprise development organisations and other public bodies active in each region, to promote enterprise growth and job creation. I expect to launch the Strategy for the Midlands in the coming weeks.
25. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update regarding the credit guarantee scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5852/15]
View answerIn line with commitments given on the introduction of this initiative a review of the SME Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) introduced under the Credit Guarantee Act 2012 was completed last year and laid before the Oireachtas in July 2014.
As a result of the review of the Scheme and on foot of immediate concerns raised by the Credit Review Office, Business Representative Organisations and the banks, I have decided to take urgent action to assist SMEs whose banks have left or are leaving the Irish SME lending market.
This will see a new CGS 2015 made 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 3 years to 7 years.
In addition, my officials are in the process of finalising the Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill which is on the A list of the spring legislative programme. This Bill will see further enhancements to the CGS on foot of the review process including: extending a wider range of financial products to be covered not just traditional credit products (e.g. invoice finance, factoring, leasing, overdrafts); a wider range of providers of financial product to be eligible, i.e. not just banks who hold a licence under the Central Bank Act 1971; an increase in the level of guarantee on individual loans from 75% to 80%; an increase in the portfolio cap, i.e. the maximum a bank can claim in respect of its portfolio from 10% to 13%; and the removal of the annual portfolio cap and instead each bank will run a single Credit Guarantee Scheme portfolio. These changes will make the CGS much more attractive to businesses.
The progress of the CGS is being continuously monitored and my Department places quarterly reports on its website.
As of close of business on 30 January 2015 there are 118 live CGS facilities resulting in €15.6 million being approved through the CGS. In addition a further 14 CGS loans have been repaid for over €1.8 million.
As a result of these live and repaid CGS facilities for SMEs it is expected that there will be 650 new jobs created and 340 jobs will be maintained.
26. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the action he is taking to address the decline in employment in the west and south-west regions. [5847/15]
View answerThe aim of the Action Plan for Jobs is to help enterprises to create employment in all regions of the country. While employment has increased nationally by approximately 80,000 since the start of the Action Plan process in 2012, not all regions are yet fully experiencing the benefits of economic recovery.
That is the reason why the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs which was published on 29th January includes a commitment to develop and publish a suite of Regional Enterprise Strategies to support enterprise growth and job creation in every region of the country. These Strategies will include a series of specific actions to be delivered by a range of public bodies and local stakeholders, building on the particular strengths and assets of each region.
The Deputy will be aware that in April last year, my Department reformed the system for delivery of State supports to micro and small enterprises. The 31 Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are a core instrument of local enterprise support and development for micro and small enterprises, and are the first stop shop through which all information on State supports for small and micro-businesses can be accessed.
One of the key elements arising from the reform is the requirement for each LEO to prepare an annual Local Enterprise Development Plan. These plans will include targets for key activities, initiatives to support enterprise and job creation in each area, as well as wider economic impacts such as exports, mentoring, training and enterprise promotion. It is expected that this reform will continue the momentum for entrepreneurship and sustained growth in job creation in each county and region across the country.
In relation to Enterprise Ireland, the agency’s client companies have continued to generate increased jobs growth, recording the highest overall rise in employment levels in the last decade, with 8,476 net new jobs at the end of 2014. EI clients now provide employment for 180,072 people, comprising 156,202 full-time and 23,870 part-time workers across all regions. These employment levels are the highest recorded by indigenous companies in the last decade. As a consequence, EI companies are responsible for more than 300,000 (direct and indirect) jobs throughout the regions of Ireland. Specifically, in 2014, there was a net gain of 1,550 EI supported jobs in County Cork and a net gain of 79 EI supported jobs in County Kerry. For Counties Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, there was a net gain of 181 jobs, 73 jobs and 96 jobs respectively.
According to the 2014 Annual Employment Survey, there has been no decline in IDA Ireland client employment in the West (Galway, Mayo) or South West (Cork, Kerry) Regions. There are 63 IDA supported companies in Galway City and County, employing 13,862 in total. In County Mayo there are 18 IDA supported companies employing 3,932 in total. In the South West, there are 158 multinational companies based in the region - 146 based in Cork and 12 in Kerry - employing a total of 30,419.
My objective is that six Regional Enterprise Strategies, including those for the West and South West regions, will be launched by July.
27. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on developments from the eighth round of negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership from 2 to 6 February 2015, his position on the regulatory co-operation proposal in view of concern expressed by civil society groups and the public that this measure is heavily weighted in favour of corporations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6094/15]
View answerThe 8th round of negotiations took place last week in Brussels. Comprehensive discussions were had in all 3 areas of the negotiations; Market Access, Regulatory Cooperation and the Rules, which includes trade facilitation, intellectual property, sustainable development, labour, the environment and SMEs. ISDS or investment protection was not discussed.
The Market Access discussions focused on tariffs, services and public procurement.
Discussions in the Regulatory area were around the proposals tabled by both sides on regulatory cooperation, technical barriers to trade i.e. standards and conformity assessment and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures (SPS). The regulatory cooperation text was tabled by the EU and is available on the EU Commission website: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=1230#regulatory-cooperation.
The main elements of the EU text are good regulatory practices and enhanced regulatory cooperation. Negotiators are discussing ways to establish a good system of cooperation between the US and EU regulators in a manner that does not compromise standards on either side of the Atlantic.
Discussions on the Rules area included sustainable development, labour and the environment. Both the EU and the US believe in the protection of workers’ rights and in the protection of the environment. Negotiators stated that they are committed to achieving an ambitious outcome. Also discussed were trade facilitation, intellectual property, state to state dispute settlement, rules or origin, energy and raw materials and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
During the 8th round the negotiating teams spent one day meeting and hearing from over 400 civil society representatives from business and industry, professional associations, consumer bodies, environmental groups and the labour movement. Turning to Regulatory Cooperation, the EU and US work closely already in a number of areas. Air transport is one example of where common standards for safety and technical requirements are already in place. The EU and the US have also agreed to recognise each other’s organic food standards. The TTIP proposes to extend this to other areas such as cars, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. The objective is to avoid duplication and to find ways to make our systems work more smoothly.
Regulatory compatibility and cooperation is not about deregulation. Rather it recognises the realities of globalisation and will make the trading landscape easier and more predictable. This will be particularly important in unlocking the potential for SMEs and in helping them to internationalise and grow exports.
28. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects to be in a position to encourage job creation here to benefit from innovation and technology support from the European Union in the course of 2015; the extent to which he expects the manufacturing and services sectors in the indigenous economy and foreign direct investors to benefit in this regard; if the youth guarantee is likely to be beneficial in this context; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6074/15]
View answerThe importance of innovation and technology to Ireland’s on-going and future economic recovery is well recognised by the Government as being crucial to growth in both our indigenous and FDI sectors. Evidence, from both the EU and internationally, shows that the Government’s strategy of accelerating the economic and societal return on our Science Technology and Innovation investment is paying off. While is it not possible to fully disaggregate the contribution of Innovation and Technology to job creation, all the evidence is that it is very significant, as Ireland moves up the value chain and exploits our competitive position in knowledge based activity. In particular, a number of EU and international indicators illustrate this. Ireland is ranked:
- 11th in the Global Innovation Index 2014 (out of 142 countries)
- 15th in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook for 2014 (up 2 places from 2013)
- 3rd in the EU ‘Indictor of Innovation Output’ (September 2013)
- 9th in the European Commission’s 2014 Innovation Union Scoreboard.
The availability of European research programmes provides Ireland with valuable mechanisms for firms – indigenous and multinational - to engage in high-level international research to further their innovativeness and competitiveness. These programmes are also a critical source of non-Exchequer funding for this important economic activity.
The current EU Framework Programme for research and innovation, which is part of the drive to create new growth and jobs in Europe, is Horizon 2020 (H2020), which has a budget of close to €80bn. and runs over the period 2014-2020. Irish companies who compete successfully for funding from this large research funding resource will boost their innovative capability and competitiveness which in turn will deliver strong national economic impacts.
Ireland performed excellently in the previous Framework Programme 7 (FP7) where over €620m. was awarded to Irish companies and academics. We have set ourselves an ambitious target of winning €1.25bn under H2020.
Our strategy to achieve our H2020 target is being driven by the H2020 High Level Group, chaired by my Department. All Departments and Agencies engaged in research funding are represented on the High Level Group.
The H2020 national support system is based in Enterprise Ireland and through a national office and a network of national contact points in the relevant programme areas of H2020, information and support is available to enterprise and researchers to facilitate their engagement with the opportunities available under H2020.
Concerning the Youth Guarantee Scheme, this falls under the responsibility of the Department of Social Protection.
29. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on the Government's position on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations; how he plans to address concerns that the main goal of the partnership is to remove regulatory barriers which restrict the potential profits to be made by transnational corporations on both sides of the Atlantic; and his views that by doing so, the partnership will undermine Irish sovereignty by giving global corporations the right to sue the Irish Government should it bring in policies and/or rules which these corporations may consider restrict their ability to engage in business, such as worker’s rights and wages, health and safety, food standards, genetically modified organisms, toxic chemicals, digital privacy, and new banking safeguards to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. [2467/15]
View answerThe purpose of the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is to reduce barriers to trade and investment in order to generate jobs and growth. According to assessments made by the European Commission and other European bodies, a comprehensive TTIP could over time boost the EU's GDP by 0.5% per annum, resulting in 400,000 additional jobs across the EU.
Ireland has particularly strong economic links with the US, with over 118,000 people employed in 585 US companies here. The total level of trade (imports and exports) between Ireland and the US in 2012 was €55 billion. The US is Ireland's biggest merchandise export market. The most recent data from the CSO shows that Ireland’s services exports to the US increased by 40% in 2012. Notwithstanding the present high level of trade significant benefits could be derived from a comprehensive and ambitious TTIP.
My Department commissioned Copenhagen Economics to carry out a study on the potential impact of the TTIP for Ireland. This study is intended to assist in guiding the Irish position in the negotiations. The study is expected to be finalised shortly and published in early 2015.
The initial findings by Copenhagen Economics show that the benefit to Ireland would be more than double the EU average, with 1.1% added to GDP. Other preliminary findings include increased exports (2.7%), increases in real wages (1.4%) and investment (1.6%). Opportunities are expected mainly in manufacturing – pharmaceutical and chemical industry, electrical machinery and other advanced machinery; services – insurance and ICT and Agriculture and processed foods.
On 7 January, 2015, the EU Commission published a number of documents, all of which can be found at http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=1230.
Included in the published documents are some of the EU’s proposals for legal text in the TTIP that have been tabled for discussion with the US. The areas covered by the texts published are competition, food safety and animal and plant health, customs issues, technical barriers to trade, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and government-to-government dispute settlement. The EU Commission also published EU position papers explaining the EU's approach in the areas of engineering, vehicles, and sustainable development.
I very much welcome this openness and transparency by the Commission.
As regards investment protection in the TTIP, the EU Commission published its report on the results of its public consultation on 13 January, 2015. The report, along with explanatory material, can be found at http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=1234.
The Commission has indicated that, based on the comments received, there are a number of areas that appear to be particularly important to respondents, which represent four areas of work that should be explored further. These are: the protection of the right to regulate; the establishment and functioning of arbitral tribunals; the relationship between domestic judicial systems and Investor to State Dispute Settlement (ISDS); and the review of ISDS decisions for legal correctness through an appellate mechanism. The EU Commission has stated that, in the first quarter of 2015, it will be discussing the report with Member States and the European Parliament, and with different stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, business, trade unions, consumer and environment organisations. The Commission has indicated that, following these consultations, it will develop specific proposals for the TTIP negotiations.
I very much welcome this approach, and I believe that 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 investment protection.
As regards the other areas of policy mentioned in the Deputy’s question, the EU Commission has already said that there will be no reduction in the EU’s high standards in health and safety. The purpose of these negotiations is to recognise the realities of globalisation and make the trading landscape easier and more predictable.
