Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I shall try to answer the Acting Chairman and give the Irish position because he asked a question on the Single Market Act. To be fair to the Minister, Deputy Bruton regarding his interaction with Commissioner Barnier, there is a determination to distil the Act into areas where Ireland has an interest. In terms of the Presidency we are talking about the proposed establishment of a high level group on services to business and progressing the digital Single Market agenda, especially building confidence measures in cross-border transactions. With regard to the cloud computing sector, there is the language of the SME access to capital markets, access to banking services, a professional qualifications directive and issues around public procurement. I agree with the Acting Chairman that the language used is arcane and does not reflect the vernacular or everyday usage. In terms of an engagement with 27 member states, it is a language that people subscribe to but I take his point.

By way of example, the Department is determined to ensure that when Council meetings take place, we can distil the language of the Commission's proposals or Council regulations into a language that can be disseminated in a way that every person, including Ministers, can grapple with.