Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 23, inclusive, together.

As the House is aware, I met a delegation from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on 4 January 2006. The meeting was positive and it was agreed that there would be further engagement at official level with a view to finalising a structure on a possible talks process over the following days. Subsequently, the Secretary General of my Department wrote to IBEC, CIF and ICTU outlining possible arrangements for the conduct of any new round of talks on a successor agreement to Sustaining Progress, in particular around the handling of issues regarding employment standards. It was proposed that a multi-stranded approach would be taken to the conduct of the negotiations and that they would commence with an early plenary meeting between the Government and the four pillars of social partnership to launch the negotiations formally.

In respect of pay and workplace matters, it was proposed that the process of negotiation would reflect the NIB statement of 4 December which recognised the need for urgent engagement on employment standards, displacement, inspection and enforcement, the protection of vulnerable workers from overseas, and related issues raised by congress. This will therefore constitute the first strand of these negotiations. The Government recognises that it is the congress position that significant progress will be made in this first strand regarding employment standards before any substantial engagement takes place around core pay issues. It is proposed that talks with the four pillars on the other strands will commence simultaneously with the employment related strand. Furthermore, as in previous negotiations, another strand of talks around public service modernisation will also be established.

I am pleased to inform the House that, following the vote in favour of entering negotiations by the SIPTU special delegate conference on 31 January and the decision by the executive council of ICTU on 1 February to accept formally my invitation to enter talks on a new national agreement, I formally launched the negotiations at the plenary meeting of the social partners in Dublin Castle on 2 February.

The plenary meeting, which was also attended by my colleagues the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with responsibility for labour affairs provided an opportunity for the Government to set out its priorities for a new agreement and also to hear initial opening statements from the social partners on their priorities for a new agreement. Following on from this, a series of bilateral meetings has got under way. As with previous agreements, the proceedings are subject to normal confidentiality arrangements to protect the negotiating positions of all.

The Government recognises that there are many challenges to be faced in any talks on a new agreement, not least in determining how the area of employment standards should be protected. We believe, however, that the concerns of the social partners on this topic, as on other issues, can best be addressed through a new partnership framework. Social partnership has a proven track record of problem solving, resulting in the radical transformation of our economic and social fortunes since 1987. We believe that with goodwill and determination on all sides, we can negotiate a mutually satisfactory outcome which will deliver further economic and social progress, building on the strong foundations we have already put in place.

The national implementation body, which includes employer and union representatives, operates under the chairmanship of my Department. Its purpose is to oversee delivery of the industrial peace and stability provisions of Sustaining Progress. The body met on a number of occasions over recent months to assist in the resolution of industrial relations disputes in both the public and private sectors. In particular, it played a key role in resolving the difficult disputes at An Post and Irish Ferries towards the end of last year. Meetings of the body also provide opportunities for informal discussion of some of the broader issues relating to the social partnership process and the industrial relations climate generally. The body will continue to meet as necessary to this end.

In December last, the National Economic and Social Council published its three yearly strategic overview of Irish economic and social policy entitled NESC Strategy 2006: People, Productivity and Purpose. The strategy report, as its predecessors did, provides a guiding vision for the coming years for economic and social development in the country and, more immediately, the framework within which the talks will take place.

In the coming months, other studies will include completion of the study on migration policy, which is well advanced. In 2006, NESC will also complete a report on the Lisbon strategy, focusing on the open method of co-ordination. Further studies nearing completion include a study on child poverty and child income supports that will examine the possibility of merging child benefit allowance and family income supplement.

During 2006, the council will consider how best to address other items in its current work programme, including taxation policy and competition and regulation in networked sectors. It will also work on its first periodic social report and a significant NESC contribution to a knowledge society foresight exercise.

The reconstituted NESF held its inaugural meeting on 26 May 2004 in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham at which the work programme for the coming term up to 2006 was discussed, as well as the appropriate structures and working arrangements in the context of the work programme. Early childhood care and education, care for older people and creating a more inclusive labour market were subsequently selected as priority topics. The report on early childhood care and education was published in September last and the reports on care for older people and creating a more inclusive labour market were published recently and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Cultural citizenship and the delivery of public services have been identified for inclusion in the second phase of the work programme. Preliminary work has been undertaken on both these topics and projects in these areas will commence shortly.

The NESF held the second national anti-poverty strategy social inclusion forum in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham on 26 January 2005. The social inclusion forum gives those who are not directly involved in the social partnership process an opportunity to input their views and experiences in implementing the national anti-poverty strategy. A report of these proceedings was published in April 2005.

The NESF also hosted, in conjunction with UCD, a conference on evidence-based policy making in February 2005. The conference examined the supply and gathering of evidence and applying this in the policy making process and the design of practical policy solutions. The ongoing monitoring and evaluation of policy outcomes was an important focus of the conference.

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