Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Question 55: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has held any discussions in relation to the Europe 2020 strategy; the suggestions he has put forward on the issue; if he advocates any changes to the strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2706/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth is a key topic of Ireland's ongoing engagement with European partners, both capitals and institutions. Ireland believes that the growth agenda must become a stronger focus at EU level. Growth is key to supporting the job creation necessary to address the unemployment crisis. It is also critical to restoring fiscal balances and regaining market confidence in debt sustainability. The Commission produced its Annual Growth Survey 2012 on 23 November, marking the starting point of the second European Semester of economic governance. The key message is that, faced with a deteriorating economic and social situation, more efforts are needed to put Europe back on track and sustain growth and jobs.

I support the five priorities suggested for the EU and Member States: pursuing differentiated, growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; restoring normal lending to the economy; promoting growth and competitiveness for today and tomorrow; tackling unemployment and the social consequences of the crisis; and modernising public administration. It is clear that we need to deliver better education outcomes; that we need to keep our focus on knowledge-intensive development; and that we need to improve participation and employment rates with sensible and job-friendly labour market policies. That is what the Europe 2020 Strategy is about.

A key challenge in the current environment is to create a climate of confidence for new investment, and to steer this investment in a direction that is smart, sustainable, and socially inclusive. We look forward to engaging constructively with the second European Semester. In line with this, we will update our National Reform Programme under the Europe 2020 Strategy by mid-April. Work to this end has begun, and will include developing a stronger alignment with specific EU-level initiatives that are supportive of national priorities established by our Programme for Government.