Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

As the Deputy is aware, the March 2010 European Council meeting agreed on the main elements of the new European strategy for jobs and growth, Europe 2020, including the key targets which will guide its implementation and arrangements for its improved monitoring. There were five European Union headline targets agreed by the European Council and they cover employment; research and development, including innovation; climate change and energy; education; and social inclusion, in particular poverty. This choice of targets is consistent with the desire to keep the strategy focused on key areas. It also brings out the potential for interlinkage, where progress under one target can contribute to reaching another. We believe that the strategy will provide an essential framework for action by the European Union and its member states to achieve higher levels of sustainable jobs and growth as economic recovery is secured.

The spring European Council provided for further work in a number of areas. This includes the development of national targets by each member state in dialogue with the Commission; the identification of bottlenecks constraining growth at national and European Union level; and the development by the Commission of its proposals for action at European Union level, notably through the flagship initiatives. This work is under way, as is the elaboration of numerical rates and appropriate indicators in the case of the education and social inclusion targets, respectively.

The Commission and Spanish Presidency have been meeting all member states and Ireland had an initial encounter on 29 April in Brussels. The purpose of that first, useful meeting was to begin the process of dialogue with the Commission concerning Ireland's national targets, as envisaged under the new strategy and as agreed at the spring European Council. It was also an opportunity to make an input on the matter of a social inclusion indicator where the Commission has acknowledged that its thinking is now evolving from its original suggestion. We favour the formulation of an appropriate target based on a poverty indicator which reflects the multidimensional nature of poverty, including material deprivation. Once agreed, the overall European Union poverty reduction target will be translated into national targets to take account of the differing starting points of member states.

Since 1997, the Government has adopted poverty targets as part of its national policy against poverty and for social inclusion. The Irish target is based on a composite poverty measure called consistent poverty. The measure identifies the percentage of the population which is both below 60% of median income, known as at risk of poverty, and experiencing material deprivation, that is, the enforced lack of two or more basic necessities. The Government target in the national action plan for social inclusion 2000 to 2016 is to further reduce consistent poverty to between 2% to 4% by 2012 and to eliminate it by 2016. Significant progress is being achieved in reaching these national targets.

Other European Union fora with expertise and a track record are now contributing to the work on the development of appropriate indicators for an European Union poverty target. These include the social protection committee where senior Irish officials from the relevant Government Departments are actively participating in the deliberations. The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, EPSCO, will consider this issue at its meeting on 7 and 8 June. The outcome from that discussion is expected to feed into the June European Council meeting.

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