Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The item on the joint committee's agenda today is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and members are delighted to welcome to the meeting the Minister, Deputy Bruton. Members will be aware that the European Commission, on behalf of the member states, is negotiating a trade and investment agreement with the United States of America. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement, known to everyone as TTIP, is designed to drive growth and create jobs in both jurisdictions by boosting economic activity by making it easier to buy or sell goods and services between the European Union and United States of America. Negotiations on the agreement opened last July and the fifth round of talks concluded last week in the United States. As I stated, members are joined by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, who will brief members on the opportunities and challenges of TTIP for Irish citizens, European citizens and companies. The Irish Government's position on TTIP also will be discussed this afternoon.