Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

It was agreed that we would hold back the draft programme until the four year plan was agreed because that was the priority as far as the European Union was concerned. Arising from that work, we can now turn to the draft reform programme, which will incorporate the four year plan.

The five headline targets that have been set out are for employment, research and development, climate change and energy, education and social inclusion. Work is ongoing on the formulation of Ireland's national targets. Targets in some areas are close to finalisation but work remains to be done in other areas. Initial considerations of the national targets will be submitted to the European Commission as part of the draft plan. The final one, to be submitted in the spring, will contain definitive targets for Ireland.

It is clear that some of the targets in the Europe 2020 process will be challenging for us. We are working closely with the European Commission to ensure that national targets are meaningful, achievable and sufficiently ambitious. It is not a requirement that the targets for Ireland should match EU targets. Instead, each member state, including Ireland, is expected to set national targets based on its own particular circumstances. We will continue to engage positively in the process. The targets are not legally binding. However, they are focussed on areas the Government has prioritised and, as such, they are complementary to existing policy. The reform programme will contain an introductory section, a section on the macroeconomic scenario and surveillance and a section on horizontal and methodological issues. National targets will form the centrepiece of the programme and work is ongoing. The reform programme should be seen as complementary to the wider economic strategy.

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