9 Feabh 2015, 15:43
NOTE: The meeting will be now addressed by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan at the revised time of 6:30 pm tomorrow.
9 February 2014
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform will tomorrow consider Ireland’s approach at the next ECOFIN meeting, to be held in Brussels on 17 February.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan TD will be questioned by Committee Members tomorrow evening on Government perspectives on the two main agenda items, the EU’s Annual Growth Survey 2015 and An Investment Plan for Europe.
The Annual Growth Survey analyses the progress that the EU has made towards its long-term, strategic priorities, while addressing economic trends or imbalances that could prove harmful to individual Member States. Separate to these economic surveillance measures, the recently published Investment Plan for Europe has been designed as a package of measures to unlock public and private investments across the EU of at least €315 billion from 2015 to 2017.
Committee Chairman Dr Liam Twomey TD said: “Tomorrow’s meeting will be a valuable opportunity to engage with Minister Noonan ahead of an ECOFIN Council meeting that will consider two agenda items with significant implications for Ireland.
“EU countries, and particularly euro area countries, are no longer able to formulate and conduct their economic policy in complete isolation from other EU countries. The creation of this real economic union presents both opportunities and challenges for national parliaments and parliamentarians and we look forward to engaging with Minister Noonan on the Commission’s 2015 Annual Growth Survey.
“Meanwhile, the Investment Plan for Europe identifies 1,000 potential investment opportunities, with a particular emphasis on the so-called peripheral regions. Therefore, Committee Members will be keen to explore with Minister Noonan the potential for communities across Ireland to benefit from the packages. Tomorrow’s discussions will also review the outcomes and implications for Ireland from January’s ECOFIN Council meeting.”
This meeting takes place at the earlier time of 6:30pm tomorrow evening (Tuesday 10 February) in Committee Room 4, LH 2000.
Committee proceedings can be followed live 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
paul.hand@oireachtas.ie
Committee Membership
Deputies
Tom Barry, Fine Gael
Richard Boyd-Barrett, People Before Profit
Ciaran Cannon, Fine Gael
Michael Creed, Fine Gael
Pearse Doherty, Sinn Fein
Regina Doherty, Fine Gael
Stephen Donnelly, Independent
Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil
Alan Farrell, Fine Gael
Sean Fleming, Fianna Fáil
Paul Murphy, Socialist Party
Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein
Ciarán Lynch, Labour Party
Michael McGrath, Fianna Fáil
Kieran O’Donnell, Fine Gael
Ciara Conway, Labour
Pat Rabbitte, Labour
Arthur Spring, Labour Party
Peadar Tóibín, Sinn Féin
Liam Twomey, Fine Gael
Brian Walsh, Fine Gael
Senators
Sean D Barrett
Thomas Byrne
Paul Coghlan
Michael D’Arcy
Aideen Hayden
Tom Sheahan