Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 29 January 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs

Work Programme 2015: European Commission Representation in Ireland

2:30 pm

Photo of Eric ByrneEric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge that we are under pressure. It would be no harm to explain that we have taken a decision on dealing with TTIP. Although I had extensive notes on it, we have agreed that the committee will meet to deal with that.

We wish the project of job creation every success. I raise two areas in job creation, which are labour mobility and youth unemployment. There is a section set on promoting integration and employability in the labour market and it argues that there should be a follow-on policy on the youth employment initiative that has already commenced to integrate the long-term unemployed into the mainstream of work and, thereafter, into the status of full citizenship of any nation. Can Ms Nolan set out the plans that will be implemented? There is a package of measures envisaged to target that. Can Ms Nolan explain the labour mobility package? Is it about labour mobility within the EU or from outside the Union into it? We have debated our work programme in private session and, touching on euroscepticism, have discussed engaging with matters that might contribute to that including the free flow of labour. There have been allegations that certain nations are robbing our jobs and we have seen the rise of UKIP around non-British labour. The dimension of cultural diversity is becoming more and more of an issue in Europe given the events in France and so on.

The Chairman has mentioned the key issue of the aviation package and Ms Nolan will answer him on that. I seek replies on the labour mobility package and the promotion of integration and employability in the labour market.

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