Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 21, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on the economy and investment was re-established by the Government on 10 April and its next meeting will be scheduled for the coming weeks. The committee last met on 15 February of this year. It comprises the Taoiseach; the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and for Defence and the Ministers for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Transport, Finance, Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and the Media. Other Ministers and Ministers of State are invited to participate as required or where the agenda is relevant to their departmental responsibilities.

The committee oversees the implementation of programme for Government commitments aimed at sustainable economic recovery, investment and job creation, including Harnessing Digital, which is Ireland's national digital strategy.

Despite many external challenges, I am pleased we continue to live in a country that is seeing a very strong economic performance, with more people at work than ever before, female participation in the workforce close to an all-time high and very low levels of unemployment. Thankfully, inflation continues to fall, while households and businesses have been supported, quite rightly, through a range of cost-of-living measures.

Our economic model continues to be founded on a well-established and successful pro-enterprise policy framework, providing a stable and sustainable regulatory and tax environment, sound management of the public finances, and significant investment in the infrastructure and skills required to ensure our future competitiveness.

As with all policy areas, economic issues are regularly discussed at full Government meetings, not just at Cabinet committee meetings. Of course, all formal decisions on our economy and, indeed, all formal decisions of the Government are made at full Cabinet meetings.

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