Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials to the meeting. This morning we must acknowledge the very strong figures from the Central Statistics Office on employment. We all welcome them as a very positive indication of a recovering economy.

Is there any timeline in place for the conclusion of the posting of workers directive? Can the Minister outline why we oppose Article 12? There was always a concern about the potential impact of the posting of workers directive on our construction sector. That is more particularly the case now that we are in the recovery phase. Strong companies within the EU could use the posting of workers directive to get around tendering or to put in lower tenders for some of the large-scale capital projects planned here. Is there any work under way within the Department to protect against that?

One of the aims of the annual growth survey is to restore lending within the economy. That is one area where we still struggle. The specific aim is to look at alternatives to bank lending. What work is under way in that area? Given that the schemes rolled out here as alternatives have not really taken off, are there any lessons the Minister can learn from colleagues in Europe to inject some action into those schemes?

I will leave the questions on the youth guarantee to Deputy Lyons. The quality framework for traineeships is very important. Where are we on that? Is there a timeline to complete discussions and actions on that, so that we can implement the recommendations as soon as possible?