Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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78. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which Ireland’s EU presidency has succeeded in addressing the most pressing issues in the course of its term of office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31131/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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At the beginning of our Presidency, the Government set out in its programme the measures we believed needed to be adopted to secure our priority objectives of restoring stability in Europe, and creating jobs and growth across the EU. With just a few days to go to the end of the Presidency we can note substantial progress in fulfilling these objectives and I can assure the Deputy that we will continue to work intensively to drive further progress.

The scourge of youth unemployment is the single greatest challenge facing Europe today. The Presidency secured early agreement on the Youth Guarantee which will provide jobless young Europeans with an opportunity to secure further education or training to better prepare them for the employment market. Its implementation will be supported by the decision of the European Council to allocate €6 billion to a new Youth Employment Initiative. As part of its efforts to underpin financial and economic stability in the European Union, the Presidency also secured agreement on two key elements of the Banking union proposals: the Capital Requirements Directive and the Single Supervisory Mechanism. Right up to the end of our Presidency we are working to make as much progress as we can on the Bank Resolution and Recovery Directive. Strong progress has also been made in financial regulation files aimed at strengthening consumer protection and on proposals to combat VAT fraud.

To help restore stability and build solid foundations for economic recovery, the Presidency has secured agreement on the “Two-Pack” legislation which strengthens budgetary surveillance and coordination within the euro area. It has also introduced more effective arrangements for the management of the European Semester process of economic and budgetary coordination.

Modernising the Single Market and reducing the administrative burden for SMEs have been priorities for Ireland as Presidency. Agreement has been reached on files including the Accounting Directive,theUnified Patent Court, and the Union Customs Codewhich will contribute to cutting red tape for business, facilitating growth and job creation. The Presidency also reached agreement on an amended Directive on re-use of Public Sector Information which offers new opportunities for business. One of the major achievements in the Single Market area is political agreement with the European Parliament on the updated Professional qualifications Directive.

One of the Presidency's strongest achievements to date has been brokering agreementon the EU's Common Fisheries Policy reform. The Presidency reached a general approach on the Common Agriculture Policy reformand is pushing ahead this week at the AgriFish Council to secure agreement on the package.

External trade has been high on our agenda as a means of sustaining growth and employment in Europe. We have fulfilled one of our top priorities - securing a mandate for the start of negotiations on a Trade and Investment Partnership with the US.

We also launched negotiations on a free trade agreement with Japan.

The Presidency has secured agreement or made progress on a wide range of other issues including protecting citizens from serious cross-border threats to health, strengthening provisions on water quality in the EU, improving the safety of workers in offshore oil and gas prospection, protecting workers in contact with electromagnetic fields, strengthening safety on Europe's roads through legislation on HGV tachographs or ban of cadmium and mercury in batteries.

In the area of justice and home affairs the Presidency has delivered agreements aimed at strengthening EU's external borders and internal border security - the Schengen Governance Package and European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR). The Presidency has also secured agreement with the European parliament on a new Directive which guarantees those suspected or accused of a crime the right to access a lawyer. Ireland successfully negotiated an agreement with the European Parliament on the European Protection Orderthat improves the protection of victims of domestic violence. Breakthrough was reached on the final two legislative measures forming part of the Common European Asylum System.

This Presidency has also worked closely with the European External Action Service and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on addressing current foreign policy issues, while also supporting democracy and advancing human rights, and working to strongly advance the EU's development aid agenda.

The Government will spare no effort in the final days of our Presidency to deliver the results set in our Presidency programme. We remain firmly committed to ensuring that our Presidency leaves a positive and lasting legacy, and tangible results contributing to stability, jobs and growth.

One of the key issues is of course finalisation of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) which provides for budgetary framework of the European Union for the next seven years and will provide €960bn to sustain jobs and growth in Europe.

Early next week we will publish a report setting out in detail the results of the Irish Presidency and I invite this House to judge for themselves the extent to which Ireland has realised the objectives we set ourselves at the start of the Presidency.