Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together.

The membership of the community and voluntary pillar of social partnership was expanded following on from ratification of Sustaining Progress. The pillar now has 15 member organisations, which have endorsed Sustaining Progress, six on an individual basis and nine organisations in the strands of older people, disability, housing, children, rural, local-voluntary and care.

The membership of the pillar changed both as a result of the review of participation in social partnership, which included an examination of ways in which to maximise the potential contribution of the community and voluntary pillar, and the decision of two organisations not to accept Sustaining Progress.

In regard to those community and voluntary organisations which have not ratified Sustaining Progress, Departments were advised that they should continue to be consulted in areas where the expertise of these organisations or their constituent members would be relevant to the policy-making and implementation process. These organisations have on occasion been invited to participate on committees or working groups in the light of their expertise. This is determined by the nature of the task or issue in question and is primarily a matter for each Department.

There is no facility for groups joining partnership during the course of an agreement. We are now in the final year of Sustaining Progress, and we will begin negotiations on a successor agreement later in the year. In the context of those talks, we may review the composition of the community and voluntary pillar and consider applications from groups not currently involved in social partnership.

The community platform, a social partner under the PPF, chose not to endorse Sustaining Progress and is therefore not currently part of the partnership process. I have not received a copy of its mid-term review of Sustaining Progress. However, as Deputies will recall, there was a formal mid-term review of Sustaining Progress in summer of last year. This review incorporated the views of all the pillars of partnership, including the community and voluntary pillar. It included among other elements a detailed report on the ten special initiatives of the agreement, which was presented to the plenary meeting last July. That review recorded that considerable progress had been made in each of the special initiatives. Detailed and comprehensive reports were laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

The most recent quarterly plenary meeting of the social partners took place on 5 May. I was represented at that meeting by officials of my Department. The agenda for the meeting included the rural transport initiative and a presentation by the CSO on its report, Measuring Ireland's Progress 2004, which shows the progress made in Ireland in important economic, social and environmental matters. As well as showing developments over time, the report benchmarks the situation in Ireland against other EU member states. The eighth progress report on the implementation of Sustaining Progress was also presented to the meeting. A copy of the reports and relevant PowerPoint presentations have been laid in the Oireachtas Library.

The date of the next quarterly plenary meeting of the social partners is 14 July 2005. I will attend that meeting with the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance. While the agenda is not set, I envisage the meeting will address progress to date under Sustaining Progress and key issues and priorities for the future.

Formal meetings such as these complement the meetings which I hold with representatives of the social partners on a regular basis. I will continue to meet the social partners regularly and as required over the remainder of the lifetime of Sustaining Progress.

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