Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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188. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of times the Labour Employer Economic Forum has met; and the issues discussed. [24675/17]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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189. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has attended a Labour Employer Economic Forum meeting recently. [25630/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 189 together.

There have been three meetings of the Labour Employer Economic Forum since it was established in 2016, and I have attended them all, the most recent being on 11 May 2017. The Forum has proved to be a significant addition to the process of direct communication and consultation between Government, employer and employee representatives on matters of mutual interest. Discussions that have taken place in the Forum have been open and constructive and have been conducted in a positive spirit of engagement.

In the first meeting of the Forum we discussed general economic and employment issues in the context of the preparation of Budget 2017 - including the latest growth projections and risks such as Brexit.  

Our second meeting focused on Brexit in more detail and the potential impacts on employer and labour interests in the Irish economy.  

This month we had the third meeting of the Forum where there was a dedicated discussion, led by my colleague the Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar, T.D.,  on proposed measures to increase protections for members of defined benefit occupational pension schemes in the private sector and related issues.