Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

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

On 7 February, accompanied by the Tánaiste, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Education and Skills, I undertook a working visit to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, in Paris. Our programme included a series of meetings with senior officials from the organisation, as well as a public event attended by the media.

The OECD’s Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, had previously visited Dublin in September 2013 to mark the organisation’s launch of its biennial economic survey of Ireland. At that time, we discussed Ireland’s economic prospects and exchanged ideas on how the OECD could more valuably contribute to the formulation of economic and social policy in the country. The working visit to Paris therefore allowed the Government to assess progress since then and to identify more specific areas where OECD expertise and analysis could assist the Government's continuing reform programme. We also touched on the importance of Ireland's exit without a backstop facility from the troika programme for both improving market confidence and securing more favourable borrowing rates.

The key focus, however, of the discussions on 7 February was on job creation and reducing unemployment, areas where the OECD has significant expertise and experience. The OECD’s view, which I share, is that Ireland has made important strides in this context, especially in terms of structural reforms, but that much more needs to be done. Its officials noted that youth unemployment remains a serious challenge and we must ensure that Ireland's workforce is increasingly equipped with the skills needed for a modern, 21st-century economy such as our own. We also had useful exchanges with the organisation’s experts on domestic labour activation strategies that can help jobseekers find suitable employment. The global economic situation has an obvious bearing on an export-driven economy like that of Ireland and I therefore was interested to hear the OECD’s views on the broader international economic environment. Its assessment was that the recovery of the global economy is progressing at a moderate pace but urgent action still is required to address structural weaknesses that remain from the crisis.

The OECD is well-known as an authority on tax issues and we had a short discussion with it on the efforts the organisation leads to combat international tax evasion and avoidance. Mr. Gurría welcomed the Government's support for the OECD's work on base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, and for its co-operation with the OECD on tax matters. In light of the discussions in February, the Government is now working with the OECD to select specific projects and areas for further co-operation. Possibilities in this regard include enhancing the performance of the national innovation system, strengthening the Government's public supports for small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, and entrepreneurship, including a particular focus on access to finance, a renewed emphasis on the role of towns and cities in unlocking the economic potential of the regions and stronger co-operation in the area of public governance more generally, including through better regulation.

In an increasingly knowledge-intensive and inter-connected global economy, Ireland's long-standing membership of the OECD has never been more important. I am confident that our visit to Paris in February will provide the basis for a stronger level of co-operation with the organisation across all areas of public policy in the months ahead and beyond.

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