Written Answers Nos. 30-39
30. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide his Department’s priorities presented at the recent eighth round of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. [5846/15]
View answerThe 8th round of the TTIP negotiations between the European Commission and the US Trade Representative took place in Brussels last week from the 2nd – 6th February. The Commission reported solid progress 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. Our priorities in these negotiations include advances in regulatory cooperation and common rules which aim to make trade and exporting easier especially for SMEs. Ireland supports the Commission in these negotiations which aim to achieve an ambitious and comprehensive agreement contributing to growth and jobs in Ireland and the EU.
31. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will report on progress on negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; his views of reported opposition to the investment state dispute settlement mechanism from the French and German Governments (details supplied) and the results of the European Commission's public consultation on TTIP in which the majority of the near 150,000 submissions expressed opposition to TTIP and the investment state dispute settlement mechanism.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2664/15]
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 enormous benefits could be derived from a comprehensive and ambitious TTIP.
My Department has commissioned 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 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.
A total of eight rounds of negotiations in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have taken place to date, the most recent being held in Brussels last week (2nd – 6th February). ISDS or investment protection was not discussed.
During the 8th round the negotiating teams spend 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.
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 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), government-to-government dispute settlement and regulatory cooperation. The EU Commission also published EU position papers explaining the EU's approach in the areas of engineering, vehicles, and sustainable development.
In relation to ISDS the EU Commission published its report on the results of the public consultation on investor protection 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.
In response to the public consultation and the views of Member States the EU Commission has stated that, in the first quarter of 2015, it will be discussing the report with Member States and with the European Parliament, as well as with different stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, business, trade unions, consumer and environment organisations. The Commission has indicated that, following these discussions, it will develop specific proposals for the TTIP negotiations, which I expect will, in due course, be considered by the EU Council of Ministers. I very much welcome this approach, as I believe that it is important to take time to have open and constructive discussion to help inform next steps. Like other Member States Ireland could only support an ISDS mechanism that is fair, transparent and efficient.
At this stage, there are no negotiations taking place with the United States on investment protection or ISDS.
32. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation , in view of the fact that the workplace relations Act does not provide a facility for retired workers to access the Labour Court, his plans to enable these retired workers to have access to the Labour Court, where their pensions and livelihoods are being impacted upon. [5855/15]
View answerI fully appreciate the concerns of retired and deferred members of pension schemes whose schemes are being restructured, particularly where such restructuring may impact on existing or potential pension benefits. The question of whether it is appropriate that pensioner groups have access to the State’s industrial relations machinery in pursuing pension scheme grievances is an issue to which I have given careful consideration, particularly in light of representations made to me in this regard.
In addition, my Department also consulted with the industrial relations bodies under the auspices of my Department on the issues that arise in the context of collective representation of retired and deferred members of pension schemes in such circumstances.
In this context, it is important to stress that the industrial relations system in Ireland is voluntary in nature both as regards access to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. Any change to that principle which would put in place a mandated right to be part of the process would alter fundamentally the conduct of industrial relations.
As it stands, active members of pension schemes (through their Trade Unions) regularly engage with the employer to attempt to reach a common position as regards changes to pension schemes whether as a result of a crisis in the scheme or otherwise. In all such cases the outcome of that engagement can only be a collective agreement which cannot, of itself, change the pension scheme. Any proposed changes to the scheme are effected via the mechanisms set out in the trust deeds and rules of the scheme and are at the discretion of the parties so designated in the rules/deeds of the scheme. In my view, it is within this framework that a collective approach would be most effective.
It should be pointed out that the Trustees of a particular pension scheme are already required by law to act in the best interests of all the members. On that basis the trustees have to take account of the interests of the deferred and pensioner members on an individual basis in any proposals they make.
The Department of Social Protection has been considering the issue of collective representation for pensioners and deferred members of occupational pension schemes with the Pensions Authority.
Arising from this exercise, the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection has recently approved an amendment to guidance issued by the Pensions Authority and signed regulations on January 22nd to provide for the recognition of groups representing the interests of retired and deferred scheme members of a pension scheme.
I understand that the Pensions Authority has published the revised section 50 guidance.
I understand that the changes apply in the following situations:
The trustees of a pension scheme will now be required to notify the groups representing the interests of retired and deferred scheme members where the trustees of a scheme propose to apply to the Pensions Authority to restructure scheme benefits under section 50 of the Pensions Act. This notification affords the representative group an opportunity to make a submission to the trustees of the scheme in relation to proposals to restructure scheme benefits.
The Pensions Authority will now be required to notify groups representing the interest of scheme members where the Pensions Authority proposes to either issue a unilateral direction under section 50 of the Pensions Act to the trustees of a scheme to restructure scheme benefits or to wind up a pension scheme under section 50B of the Pensions Act. This notification affords the representative group an opportunity to make representations to the Pensions Authority in relation to its proposals to restructure scheme benefits or to wind up a pension scheme. In such situations, the representative group will also have the option of making an appeal to the high Court on a point of law in relation to such proposals.
33. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to create more manufacturing jobs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5853/15]
View answerThe Strategy for the Manufacturing Sector, which I commissioned, and which was published in April 2013, identified that an additional 20,000 jobs can be created in the sector by 2016. A complementary report on the skills needs for the sector, which I had commissioned at the same time, was published by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, and it identified a series of actions to enhance skills in the sector. Arising from the Manufacturing Strategy and the Skills Report, there are now a range of initiatives in hand by relevant Agencies to drive the 2016 target, with key actions from both reports having been incorporated into the Action Plans for Jobs for 2013 and 2014. Developing manufacturing was adopted as a Disruptive Reform in the 2014 Plan. One of the key actions there is the delivery of a National Step Change initiative to strengthen Ireland’s manufacturing base across all firms engaged in manufacturing i.e. small and medium-sized firms and larger multi-nationals, particularly in higher-value sub sectors such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food. In addition a wide range of training and educational initiatives are underway by the relevant providers, such as Skillnets. A suite of measures designed to support industry growth across a span of sectors are set out in the new Action Plan for Jobs 2015 which I launched recently, and include encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting start-up activity, further improving our skills base, assisting our businesses to grow, improved access to finance by SMEs and developing and deepening opportunities from global investment.
As a small open economy, Ireland is impacted by global economic cycles and shifts in competitiveness worldwide. In the case of manufacturing, lower labour costs in Asia have, for many years had a significant impact on the production of lower value goods with high labour element, but Government policy has pursued the development of higher value areas. Since the advent of the recession, Ireland’s competitiveness has improved, as shown by our rise in International rankings, as various costs have been reduced. Overall trends are very positive. The Annual Employment Survey shows a rise in employment in Agency supported manufacturing companies of over 3,300 between 2011 and end 2013, (2014 sectoral data is not yet available).
Both IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland are working with both existing and prospective new client companies in the manufacturing sector, with consequent job creation and retention, and several recent new job announcements have been in respect of companies engaged in this sector. Just last week I officiated at the Combilift announcement which will bring 200 new skilled jobs to County Monaghan. On Monday last I helped launch the Lakeland Dairies initiative in County Cavan which will provide an additional 81 jobs in their new milk processing facility. The two initiatives are great examples of regional job creation.
2014 was a very productive year for expansion in both Foreign and Indigenous Agency-supported companies, with IDA having created a net increase of 7,131 jobs and Enterprise Ireland having created a net increase of 8,476 jobs in their client companies.
The Government have made great strides in addressing various issues impacting on costs for business over recent years. Maintaining and improving our competitiveness is an ongoing priority.
Innovation is a key characteristic of growing companies in the Manufacturing sector. Enterprise Ireland, IDA and Science Foundation Ireland, provide a range of innovation and technology development programmes that deliver financial, technical and experiential support. By way of illustration, in 2013 SFI had links to 65 per cent of the jobs announced by IDA in fields covered by SFI’s legal remit.
I am very conscious of the difficulty in attracting new industry to the regional centres. For this reason I have initiated the development of new Regional Strategies, to be rolled out this year and I am hopeful that this new approach will help to reinvigorate the industrial base of areas which are away from the main urban centres. The Government are therefore committed to strong job creation in all regions of the country. This policy is already working – for example the South East region, which has traditionally very high levels of unemployment has seen its unemployment rate reduced from 19.4% to 13.7% in the last 2 years alone. The overall National Unemployment rate continues to fall and now stands at 10.5% a dramatic improvement on the position which pertained just a few years ago after this Government took office.
34. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the way in which the Action Plan for Jobs will assist in improving competitiveness in the retail sector in view of a European Central Bank study, which indicated that Irish grocery prices, excluding valued added tax, were considerably above the European Union average; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6097/15]
View answerAt the end of 2014, the European Central Bank published an Expert Group technical paper which looked how inflation outcomes differ when various different technical indices are used (ECB Working Paper Series No. 1754 of December 2014 refers). The paper compares the effects and variations of using nine different index formulae when applied to grocery product categories in ten Euro area countries. The paper is not designed to be a comparison of grocery prices across EU or Euro area countries. The Consumer Price Index figures for December 2014, published in January by the CSO, show that Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages fell by 2.6% on average year-on-year. Prices decreased across a range of products such as meat, vegetables, bread and cereals.
The 2015 Action Plan for Jobs places an emphasis on supporting sectors in the domestic economy, including the Retail sector. The Action Plan contains a number of measures to support the sector, building on the work undertaken in 2014 by my own Department and other Government Departments. Actions to be taken in 2015 which will contribute to the competitiveness of the sector include the continued roll-out of Trading On-Line Vouchers to 2,000 businesses, examining the options to enhance the skills profile of the sector, and a review of the 2012 Forfás report on business licences with a view to identifying further actions which can be taken to reduce the administrative burden on the Retail sector.
Through the Retail Consultation Forum, which is chaired by the Minister for Business and Employment, Ged Nash, T.D., we will continue to identify actions that can be taken to help improve competitiveness and support increased employment in the sector.
35. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on trends in the unemployment figures for persons under 25 years of age; the specific measures that will be taken under the Action Plan for Jobs to improve employment opportunities for young persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6095/15]
View answerThe Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, which is co-ordinated and developed by my Department since 2012, has set out a comprehensive set of measures to address the unemployment challenge for all age cohorts. 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. The CSO data for January 2015 indicate that the number of persons aged 25 on the Live Register and under has fallen to 13.7% from 15.1% in January 2014, a reduction of 11,248 over the year. Indigenous exports and foreign direct investment are at all-time record levels. Our competitiveness ranking internationally has climbed to 15th according to the IMD. The rate of unemployment has declined from a peak of 15.1 per cent at the start of 2012 to below 10.5 per cent in January 2015.
The Government’s primary strategy to tackle youth unemployment is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of productive employment for young people.
While it is the Pathways to Work strategy that focuses on specific measures to improve employment opportunities for young persons, the steps taken to date under previous Action Plans, and those set out for this year, complement that work and directly assist young job seekers.
The Action Plan for Jobs commits to implementing the 70 actions in Pathways to Work 2015. These include beginning the new account management approach to employers, roll-out JobPath, continuing to roll-out the Youth Guarantee initiatives, and introduce a Back to Work Family Dividend. In addition, as part of Pathways to Work, a new JobsPlus strand for young people will be available in 2015 under the Youth Guarantee. Since its launch in the summer of 2013, over 2,500 employers have availed of the opportunity to give over 3,400 unemployed people on the Live Register a chance to get back into employment.
The Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan was published in January 2014. Two employment schemes in particular, the Youth Guarantee developmental internship programme and the JobsPlus variant for young people, were launched in November 2014 after the required legislation was passed in June 2014. Passage of the legislation also permits the introduction of earlier and more intensive engagement by Intreo with the young unemployed. Models for the engagement of young people through Intreo have been agreed and will form the basis of the national roll-out of the Youth Guarantee in 2015. Potential refinement of these models may be considered on the basis of outcomes and learning from Youth Guarantee Pilot Project in Ballymun.
We will continue to focus on improvement in skills provision through the provision of programmes for a diverse range of individuals including young unemployed people through the Education and Training Boards in the implementation of the Further Education Strategy 2014-2018, the Momentum programmes, the recent launch of the fifth iteration of Springboard, offering short higher education courses for jobseekers with previous work experience, employment incentive schemes such as JobsPlus and doubling of high-end skills as part of the second ICT Skills Action Plan. The launch of the call for new apprenticeships should provide further opportunities for young people to find rewarding careers for the future. The HEA will also support the use of third level facilities out of term to promote greater awareness and interest in technology, science and engineering among young people.
In the areas of entrepreneurship, the launch of the Local Enterprise Offices provides a first-stop-shop for young entrepreneurs with an idea or interested in starting a business and we will build on the success of “Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur” competition which was launched in 2014.
36. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide an update on the recruitment process for the low pay commission; if the nine positions have been filled, and by whom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5838/15]
View answerThere is a commitment in the Statement of Government Priorities 2014-2016 to establish a Low Pay Commission (LPC) on a statutory basis as an independent body to make annual recommendations to the Government about the appropriate level of the minimum wage and related matters. The Low Pay Commission will consist of:
- An independent chairperson
- Three people with a deep understanding of the interests of low paid workers, preferably with a proven track record of working on behalf of the low paid
- Three people with a deep understanding of employer interests, preferably where the national minimum wage is relevant and who have good knowledge of issues such as labour costs and competitiveness challenges facing Irish businesses
- Two members with experience of economics, labour market economics, statistics or employment law
With the exception of the position of chairperson, the appointment process was managed by the Public Appointments Service (PAS). The membership of the Commission will be finalised shortly.
With a view to ensuring that it will be in a position to carry out its functions as soon as possible, I will shortly establish the Low Pay Commission on an interim administrative basis. Legislation to provide for the establishment of the LPC on a statutory basis will be published as soon as possible thereafter with a view to its early enactment and it is intended that the interim membership will constitute the Commission when it is established on a statutory basis.
37. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the position regarding the negotiation on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5850/15]
View answerSince the formal negotiations on the TTIP began in July 2013, eight negotiating rounds have taken place. The 8th round of negotiations took place in Brussels last week (2nd - 6th February). The Commission have reported solid progress in all 3 areas of the Agreement, Market Access, Regulatory Cooperation and the Rules, which includes trade facilitation, intellectual property, sustainable development, labour, the environment and SMEs. The Market Access discussions focused on tariffs, services and public procurement. These discussions have allowed both sides to better understand each sides priorities and sensitivities.
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). A 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 establish a good system of cooperation between the US and EU regulators in a manner that does not compromise individual Member States right to regulate.
Discussions on the Rules area included sustainable development and labour and the environment. Both the EU and the US believe in the protection of workers’ rights and on protection of the environment and negotiators are committed to achieving an ambitious outcome which goes beyond what has been done so far in trade agreements. Also discussed were had on 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 spend 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.
38. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his Department’s role in the Global Irish Economic Forum; his views on whether the forum is realising its full potential in terms of supporting employment growth in the economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6099/15]
View answerThe Global Irish Economic Forum is organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with inputs from other Government Departments including my own. The most recent Forum – the third since 2009 – was held in October 2013. The themes discussed at the 2013 Forum were closely aligned with the Action Plan for Jobs and the event was structured to capture practical ideas that could be taken forward through the Action Plan process. Working Groups in the Forum addressed issues such as driving innovative manufacturing, developing a supportive culture for entrepreneurship, tackling youth unemployment, as well as looking at the potential of sectors such as financial services, technology, tourism and Agri-food.
I, along with senior officials from my Department participated on various Working Groups at the Forum. A number of ideas which emerged from the 2013 Forum were included in the 2014 and 2015 Action Plans for Jobs. These include:
- Designating 2015 as the Year of Irish Design; the 2015 Action Plan for Jobs includes a series of actions to grow sales through leadership in design.
- Focusing on driving a step change in Manufacturing; this was a key Disruptive Reform in the 2014 Action Plan and, in 2015, the IDA will launch a new €1.5 million programme to support transformation and productivity improvement in the sector.
- Building on the theme of Entrepreneurship, a National Policy Statement on Entrepreneurship was published last year as part of the 2014 Action Plan for Jobs process.
Other actions included in the Action Plans which emerged from the Global Irish Economic Forum include the appointment of “Origin Green” ambassadors in the Food sector and a focus on the opportunities from Smart Ageing. These are all significant initiatives to support employment growth in the economy and demonstrate the synergies between the Global Irish Economic Forum and the Action Plan for Jobs process.
39. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his plans to review the Government's current plan on scientific research; when this review will be published; the consultation process involved in this review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5849/15]
View answerA successor to the Strategy for Science, Technology & Innovation (SSTI) 2006 – 2013 is being formulated and will provide the framework for the strategic direction to enable the delivery and support of effective research that produces outputs of maximum impact for Ireland’s economy and society. As the Deputy is aware, resource constraints and the economic downturn nationally and globally meant that, de facto, in recent years policy has been focused mainly around five core strategic policies:
- Prioritisation of public funds into areas of research that offer most potential for economic recovery and social progress;
- Consolidation of resources in units of scale with scientific excellence,
- Increased collaboration between academia and industry; and between academic and research performing institutions;
- International collaboration, to maximise return on investment and to optimise success under EU Framework programmes; and
- Facilitating the translation of knowledge and the transfer of technology into jobs.
It is now timely to place Research Prioritisation and the focus on research relevance and impact within a broader context and to develop and articulate a vision for science policy. An Interdepartmental Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation is working towards formulating the new Strategy. The new Strategy will seek to, inter alia:
- embed Research Prioritisation as a key policy objective to ensure a continued focus on public funding of research in areas of economic relevance to enterprise;
- maintain and build further the capacity and capability of people in academia and in enterprise through the acquisition and transfer of knowledge and in doing so, support excellent and impactful research across the full continuum from basic to applied as well as commercialisation of research;
- maintain and build further relevant infrastructures across all the sciences but in particular in areas of economic relevance to the enterprise base to address the jobs crisis;
- build on consolidation of the system by further enhancing its coherence and its accessibility to enterprise and society.
A consultation paper which serves as a scene setter and which poses key questions that need to be addressed in a new Strategy is being circulated this week to key stakeholders to seek their views. I expect to publish the new Strategy by Summer 2015.
