Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials and offer them my best wishes for the forthcoming Competitiveness Council.

Senator Feargal Quinn touched on the issue of energy. It is remarkable to note that the energy price gap is so wide that gas is three times more expensive than electricity in Europe and twice as expensive as in the United States. The Senator referred to the increase in production in the United States, importation to Canada and so on, whereas we are largely reliant on certain somewhat unstable countries in the Middle East, notwithstanding the improved situation in Iran. When we talk about the Internal Market in energy, what exactly is anticipated and what will the impact be? The Minister has indicated that there is a concern about transportation from Europe to the United States. Will he expand on this?

In regard to the country-specific recommendations for the new semester, have we had initial communications on what is proposed? In its annual growth survey the Commission has confirmed five areas for reform, one of which is growth-friendly fiscal consolidation. What is envisaged under this heading? We all know the Government's view on corporation tax, namely, that there should be no change in the current arrangements. Is that issue likely to feature again in discussions at European level, including at the Competitiveness Council?

There was reference to the German practice in regard to apprenticeships. Are there other models in the European Union that are similar to the German model or, on the other hand, more similar to our own in a context of high levels of participation at third level? Some time back a delegation from one of the federal states in Germany came before the committee and put forward the view that this country's level of third level participation was too high and that we needed to do more in terms of other training and education models. Is there something we can learn from other European countries, apart from Germany, that might be helpful in this regard?