11 Dec 2013, 11:33
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs has this afternoon called for a specific focus on employment and social indicators in Economic and Monetary Union, arguing that economic and social progress are essentially two sides of the same coin.
11 December 2013
The recommendation is included in a political contribution to the European Institutions on a recent Commission Communication on strengthening the social dimension of EMU, which included an employment and social ‘scoreboard’ to feature in Eurozone governance.
The Committee contribution, which was informed by a series of meetings with Irish stakeholders in recent weeks, says that the EU’s shared economic governance mechanisms must be capable of identifying, taking into account and addressing problematic developments related to employment and social policies in EMU in good time.
The Committee also recommends that:
- Clarity be provided regarding the introduction of the social indicators scoreboard and that any duplication must be avoided;
- While the indicators must carry weight, levels of sanctions or supports for Members States in breach of social indicator thresholds be carefully considered;
- The proposed scoreboard be expanded to include figures on child and old-age poverty and the participation of women and young people in employment, and
- EU social dialogue be strengthened, broadening the definition of a social partner at pan-European level
Chairman of the Committee Dominic Hannigan TD says: “A genuine social dialogue and focus on the social agenda at European level has the potential to revive the tarnished image of Europe among its citizens. This important political contribution is informed by meetings with ICTU, IBEC, the ESRI, anti-poverty campaigners and women’s and youth representatives in recent weeks. On behalf of Committee Members, I wish to acknowledge the efforts of all those organisations that inputted into this work.
\"The Committee agreed to forward the contribution to the Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton TD, the Presidents of each of the European Institutions and, in the interests of inter-parliamentary cooperation on EU matters, to the appropriate Committee in each EU Member State’s national parliament.”
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Committee Membership
Deputies: Eric Byrne, Seán Crowe, Timmy Dooley, Bernard J. Durkan, John Halligan, Dominic Hannigan (Chair), Seán Kyne, Dara Murphy (Vice-Chair) and Joe O’Reilly
Senators: Colm Burke, John Kelly, Terry Leyden, Catherine Noone and Kathryn Reilly