Vol. 412 No. 7
34 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the reason Ireland is falling behind all other Member States of the EC apart from Italy in implementing internal market legislation already adopted by the Council of Ministers; whether it is correct that 49 texts which should have been implemented in Irish law have not in fact been so enacted; and if he will outline his proposals at this stage to remedy the situation.
The position regarding the implementation by Ireland of measures in the Community's Internal Market Programme is a matter of concern to the Government. Of the 173 measures currently applicable in the Community, some 38 measures, or 22 per cent of the total, are still awaiting implementation here.
My Department have overall responsibility for monitoring progress on the Internal Market programme and, in consultation with the EC Commission, is now vigorously pursuing the matter of implementation with all parties responsible for the outstanding measures. Additionally, I have brought the current unsatisfactory situation to the attention of the Government. My objective now is to ensure that all that can be done will be done to bring about a significant improvement in the situation without further delay.
