11 Jun 2014, 16:14
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs tomorrow meets with the Minister of State for European Affairs Paschal Donohoe TD to consider the next step in the European Semester process, the Country Specific Recommendations for Ireland, recently published by European Commission.
11 June 2014
The European Commission published guidelines for each Member State.
The Commission’s Country Specific Recommendations for Ireland are to:
- Implement the current budget, correcting the excessive deficit in 2015;
- Reform the healthcare sector to increase cost-effectiveness;
- Improve Ireland’s active labour market policies focusing on the long-term unemployed, the low-skilled and young people;
- Tackle the low work intensity of households and address the poverty risk of children through tapered withdrawal of benefits and supplementary payments upon return to work.
- Improve access to more affordable and full-time childcare;
- Develop further policy initiatives for the SME sector including addressing financing and debt restructuring issues;
- Announce ambitious targets for mortgage arrears restructuring with a view to substantially resolving mortgage arrears by end 2014;
- Reduce legal costs by passing and implement the Legal Services Regulation Bill.
Chairman of the Committee Dominic Hannigan TD says: “Following Ireland's exit from the bailout programme, the influence of the European Semester process on the preparation of our national budget is being fully felt for the first time. Minister of State Donohoe will present Ireland’s position on the Country Specific Recommendations at the forthcoming General Affairs Council meeting on 24 June, after which they will be endorsed by EU leaders at the European Council at the end of the month. Tomorrow’s meeting is an important opportunity for Oireachtas engagement in this process.”
The meeting takes place tomorrow Thursday 12 June at 2 pm in Committee Room 3, LH 2000. Public proceedings can be viewed online here.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Media enquiries to:
Paul Hand,
Communications Unit,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
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, Aideen Hayden, Terry Leyden, Catherine Noone and Kathryn Reilly