Ms Lynn Boylan:

I will focus on the committees I am on, namely, the employment and social affairs committee and the environment and public health committee. Before I get into the details of Mr. Juncker's work plan and its relevance to those committees, one of the things that particularly worries me about the work plan is the lobby register. We were promised by Jean-Claude Juncker and Mr. Timmermans that we would have a mandatory lobbying register. What we have got in this work plan falls far short of that. It does not address the main issues of concern, namely, mandatory disclosure and the implementation of binding sanctions if a company that is lobbying does not disclose properly. For example, Goldman Sachs, the largest world investment bank, declared in 2013 that it spent €50,000 on lobbying in the European Union. This is the largest world investment bank. The same bank in America, where they have very strict disclosure methods, claimed it spent $3.6 million on lobbying activities. There is clearly a discrepancy and what Jean-Claude Juncker has done with this lobby register goes nowhere near addressing that issue. We need to deal with that because there is a lack of trust among people across Europe in how the European Union does its business, particularly around the Commission and around transparency.

It was a real opportunity which, unfortunately, has been missed.

Another issue of concern about the work plan is the sunset clause in the maternity directive. It was a proposal which sought to extend maternity leave to 20 weeks, something any woman of child-rearing age would welcome. I do not understand why it has stalled at the Council. It was openly stated that if something could not be agreed within six months at the Council, it would be taken off the table. A member state opposed to legislation would then oppose and delay it for six months in order that it would be withdrawn. I do not understand the logic behind this.

With regard to environmental protection, from the very beginning of Jean-Claude Juncker's term we have seen that he has no regard for environmental regulation. For example, no Commissioner has been given responsibility for the issue of sustainable development and in the merging of energy and climate change issues in one portfolio it has certainly been watered down. I refer to the fact that the Commissioner appointed to this role and his family have very public links with oil companies. I do not think this bodes well in dealing with climate change and energy matters.

The circular economy package which deals with recycling and the reuse of raw materials is being dropped. It was estimated that it would lead to the creation of thousands of jobs - up to 180,000 across the European Union - and that it would also save the European Union billions of euro, but it has now been dropped. This contradicts Jean-Claude Juncker's stated priorities to boost job creation and growth in Europe. It is a case of short-term business interests being unwilling to adapt and being put before the long-term public interest. I am deeply disappointed that this package has been removed from the work plan.

With regard to employment and social affairs, I am pleased that Deputy Byrne has raised the issue of youth unemployment. When Jean-Claude Juncker addressed the European Parliament, he spoke about channelling a significant proportion of the investment plan into projects to get the younger generation back to work. This will be welcomed, particularly in Ireland and other countries in bailout programmes where young people have borne the brunt of a crisis that was not of their making. I draw the attention of the committee to the youth guarantee. It is no secret that I was very vocal about it when it was introduced because I thought it was under-funded. That remains my view. There are glaring omissions such as how it will deal the lack of facilities for people with disabilities and lone parents. It is interesting to note that since the pilot programme was begun in Ballymun, a report has been undertaken by the European trade union syndicate on the roll-out of the youth guarantee across Europe. There are concerns in member states about its roll-out. I draw the attention of members to some of the aspects of the Irish model highlighted. I encourage the Government to reflect on and address these criticisms and make an effort to adapt the youth guarantee.

One of the issues highlighted was raising the participation age to 30 years for those who wished to access the youth guarantee programme. Jean-Claude Juncker has said he is open to this idea, which is welcome. I, therefore, encourage the Government to extend the participation age to 30 years. I flag that the Government stated it did not consider precarious work to be a serious issue. It is.

I refer to Ireland's record on the issue of low-paid jobs. The report by the European trade union syndicate flagged that the work contracts being offered to young people were bad and that interns were displacing jobs. If the Government proposes to roll out the youth guarantee on a national basis, I suggest it takes on board these concerns. The report also flagged the rapid decline in the number of apprenticeships. I ask the Government to take this finding on board for the sake of young people.