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

I welcome the Minister of State to the committee. He mentioned that there would be no great surprises in these recommendations. The Government has been dealing with the relevant matters for a while. The recommendations continue on from the troika's programme. On Tuesday, I asked a question of the Minister, Deputy Bruton, at the jobs committee. These are classed as recommendations, but what is their legality? Are they directives, recommendations or expectations?

The Government will play a role in implementing the CSRs, but is the Minister of State directly responsible for liaising within the Government to ensure their implementation? Are the CSRs similar to those of other countries? Bank restructuring, access to finance and reducing unemployment are surely issues across the EU. The Director-General for Enterprise and Industry, Mr. Daniel Calleja Crespo, appeared before the jobs committee yesterday. Access to finance is a particular issue in his country, as is its high unemployment rate. Can anything be learned from how the other countries are dealing with such issues?

Personal and public debt present a significant challenge and are the subject matter of a recommendation. In March, the Commission described it as one of the remaining macroeconomic imbalances. How much of an issue will it pose? Will we be able to meet the targets for the public deficit and ongoing personal debt?