17 Nov 2014, 16:31
Representatives of European Movement Ireland will appear before Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs to consider their 2013 Accountability Report.
17 November 2014
Executive Director Noelle O’Connell will outline the Report, which measures a number key indicators tracking Ireland’s engagement with the EU at a number of different levels and, where relevant, outlines where improvements can be made.
Chairman of the Committee Dominic Hannigan continues: “Since 1954, the European Movement Ireland has worked tirelessly to facilitate links between all sectors of Irish society and the European Union. We will have an opportunity to explore the EMI’s Accountability Report 2013, which is a report card on key areas of Ireland’s engagement with European Union, which measures input of the Irish Government in Commission Consultations, European Parliament engagement by MEPs and attendance and performance by cabinet members at European Council and Council of Ministers meetings. It also measures Oireachtas engagement and includes a commentary on the work of our Committee.”
Separately, the Committee will meet with Eurofound, a Dublin-based EU agency that works for the improvement of living and working conditions across Europe.
Deputy Hannigan continues: “The European Foundation (Eurofound) was established to in 1975 provide knowledge in the area of social and work-related policies. Many of Eurofound’s priorities will tally with the Committee’s recent work on strengthening the social dimension to the EU’s work. In a political contribution to the European Commission last year for instance, we 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. Tomorrow, our Committee will hear from Director Juan Menéndez-Valdés on the activities and priorities of his agency in contribute to the planning and design of better living and working conditions in Europe.”
The meeting takes place tomorrow 18 November at 2pm in Committee Room 1, LH 2000. Commencing with discussion with EMI, public proceedings can be followed 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.
Committee Membership
Deputies: Eric Byrne, Seán Crowe, Timmy Dooley, Bernard J. Durkan, John Halligan, Dominic Hannigan (Chair), Seán Kyne, and Joe O’Reilly
Senators: Colm Burke, Aideen Hayden, Terry Leyden, Catherine Noone and Kathryn Reilly