Peadar Clohessy
Ceist:12 Mr. Clohessy asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment what plans, if any, he has to promote employment during Ireland's six-month Presidency of the EU.[7662/96]
Written Answers. - EU Presidency.
The central policy consideration of this Government is the need to create employment and to provide opportunities for those seeking work. At national level a wide range of initiatives has been implemented to encourage the recruitment of additional workers and to create the environment within which this can most effectively happen. The last budget focused particularly on the long-term unemployed and those who are most marginalised on the labour market. Severe unemployment problems are also affecting other member states of the European Union and these are informing the deliberations of all Council of Ministers meetings. The Irish Presidency in the latter half of this year will ensure that political concern at the European level continues to focus on the central problem of unemployment and that all policies are informed by the need to create work for those currently unemployed.
The Irish Presidency will put particular emphasis on ensuring that the strategy decided at the European Council in Essen in December 1994 is followed through with determination. This focuses on ensuring that there is increased investment in vocational training, on improving the employment intensiveness of growth, on the reduction of non-wage labour costs, on greater effectiveness of labour market policies and on the implementation of specific measures to help groups particularly affected by unemployment.
In pursuit of the strategy agreed by the Heads of State and Government at Essen, the Social Affairs Council, ECOFIN and the European Commission will report to the European Council to be held under the Irish Presidency on the progress in their mutual surveillance of the multi-annual employment programmes being implemented by all member states.
The European Pact of Confidence on Employment recently proposed by Commission President Santer has further concentrated attention on the importance of the issue of employment. This seeks the active involvement of governments and the social partners in agreeing policy initiatives at a European level which will further facilitate higher employment growth levels in the member states of the European Union. The Irish Presidency will support positive developments in this context, and these will be informed by the convergence criteria which have been established for membership of the European Monetary Union.
There is general acceptance that, given the scale of the problem of unemployment and the urgency of effective policies to address it, the Intergovernmental Conference should also consider this issue. Ireland has always insisted, and with considerable success, that the European Council should seriously focus on unemployment and support policy proposals to effectively address this central problem. In this vein, the Irish Presidency will also be actively involved in the Intergovernmental Conference in exploring the scope for constructive treaty amendments so as to improve the effectiveness of the employment policies of the European Union and their impact, in particular on those member states, such as Ireland, which have higher than average levels of unemployment.