6 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Labour if he will outline the progress made to date with regard to the implementation of the EC Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers; if any deadline has been set by the Government for the implementation of the charter; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

20 Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for Labour if Ireland currently complies, in full, with all provisions of the EC Social Charter; if not, if he will outline the areas of non-compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

31 Mr. Cotter asked the Minister for Labour if Ireland currently complies, in full, with all provisions of the EC Social Charter; if not, if he will outline the areas of non-compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

33 Mrs. T. Ahearn asked the Minister for Labour if Ireland currently complies, in full, with all provisions of the EC Social Charter; if not, if he will outline the areas of non-compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

41 Mrs. Fennell asked the Minister for Labour if Ireland currently complies, in full, with all provisions of the EC Social Charter; if not, if he will outline the areas of non-compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

43 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Labour if Ireland currently complies, in full, with all provisions of the EC Social Charter; if not, if he will outline the areas of non-compliance; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 20, 31, 33, 41 and 43 together. As explained by my predecessor, Deputy Bertie Ahern, in replies to previous Dáil questions on 27 February and 10 July 1991, the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights is being implemented through a Commission Action Programme. During the Irish Presidency in the first six months of 1990, the Minister, Deputy Ahern, as President-in-Office of the Social Affairs Council, was instrumental in drawing up and securing agreement to a timetable for completion of the action programme.

I am aware that concern has been expressed, particularly within the European Parliament, about the pace of progress in dealing with the Commission's Action Programme. It is true that it has proved difficult to reach agreement at the Social Affairs Council on certain proposals, but concrete progress has been made, especially as regards measures in the occupational safety and health area. The main problem is that the social affairs area is characterised by a great diversity of circumstances in member states which can be difficult to reconcile. There are also particular problems where cost implications are involved which could jeopardise competitiveness and employment.

There are 47 initiatives listed in the Commission's Action Programme. Seven of these represent legal instruments which have already been adopted by Council, a common position has been agreed on four such instruments while 13 proposed instruments are currently the subject of technical discussion in the social questions working group. A total of 18 measures have yet to be submitted to the Council by the Commission. A further five items which have been submitted by the Commission comprise reports or communications on which no further action is required by Council. I am circulating in the Official Report a tabular statement outlining the current state of play in relation to all of the measures identified in the Social Action Programme.

The question of compliance with the instruments adopted does not arise at this stage. Where necessary, appropriate legislation will be prepared to comply with the requirements of the instruments. Ireland is committed to the charter as a basis for achieving a strong social dimension to complement the economic objective of completion of the Single Market and we are co-operating constructively in examination of each proposal submitted to the Council under the Commission's Action Programme. Our approach is to examine each such proposal on its merits, seeking to achieve a fair balance between desirable social progress in the interests of workers and the capacity of employers and Governments to undertake the corresponding obligations. We assess each proposal by reference to its implications for employment in Ireland because employment is the overriding social priority.

It should be made clear that the relatively slow progress in dealing with measures under the action programme has not been due to any lack of goodwill on our part or indeed on the part of the social affairs Ministers generally. If these legislative proposals are taking longer to process than had been expected, it is primarily because they have proved to be difficult and complicated and because each member state takes its responsibilities in relation to those proposals very seriously.

At this stage, it is not possible to predict when consideration of all proposals under the Commission's Action Programme will be completed.

EC Charter of Basic Social Rights for Workers

Implementation of the Social Action Programme

Will the Minister agree that the Social Charter was dealt a mortal blow at the recent Maastricht summit? Will he confirm that, of all the areas of EC policy in the context of the Single Market, the Social Charter is the one that is furthest behind? Will he explain why the Irish Government, particularly he as Minister for Labour, have effectively been adopting an obstructionist position at the Council of Ministers and will he confirm that the stated support by the Government for the Social Charter is no more than the Government's alleged support for the Irish language?

Ba mhian liom a chur in iúl don Teachta go bhfuil an sprid chéanna againn i dtaobh an Social Charter agus atá againn i dtaobh cúrsaí na Gaeilge. Más é sin an méid atá le rá aige, ní mórán é. Bainimid úsáid as an Ghaeilge aon uair a bhíonn seans againn. That will be our commitment in respect of the Social Charter. The Deputy should leave the Irish language out of this because we all have a common obligation to and respect for it. I agree with the Deputy that the outcome of the Maastricht summit in relation to social policy was not as we would have wished. No one would wish for a social policy programme which is not agreed by all 12 member states. I agree with the Deputy that we cannot have an effective social action programme on a legal basis throughout the Community until all 12 members are equally involved, committed and bound to it. Because one country opts out of this exercise for reasons of principle or otherwise the Deputy should not take that to mean that we are not committed to the Social Charter. There is no evidence of that. The Deputy will see from the tabular statement exactly what our programme is. Is the Deputy suggesting that we, in the course of discussions at the Social Council, ignore the impact of regulations on employment here?

No.

We are agreed on that. Would the Deputy suggest that we should not inquire into the even-handed implementation in all 12 member states of the conditions of work and so on? I presume he would not suggest that. I hope that sooner rather than later we will have the confirmation we seek, namely that employment, which is our first priority, will not be affected.

I am not satisfied with the Minister's response to the question. We are well behind the other countries in many areas. Recently we abdicated our responsibility to pregnant workers. The position of part-time workers is vulnerable under existing legislation and there is no statutory minimum wage here. Many of the Twelve — we all know the spurious reasons Britain opted out — already enjoy a statutory minimum wage. When will we amend our legislation so as to put it on an even footing with that of other European countries?

The Deputy is getting back to the case he made earlier. We are talking about the implementation of the EC charter, directives and the legal obligations that follow from that but the Deputy's question deals with a different matter. I am tempted to read out in detail what is contained in the tabular statement to prove to Deputies that what they are suggesting is incorrect.

The Deputies should await the tabular statement.

Many of the suggestions made by the Deputies have not as yet been considered by the Council and have not been formulated or adopted as proposals by the Commission.

What about safety at work?

Out of a range of about 120 items the Deputies can pick one or two and they will see what is involved.

I accept what the Minister said about the 11 member states. Considering our peculiar and close association with the UK and the reciprocal arrangements that have existed over the years, will the Minister give particular attention to what may arise when and if these matters are sorted out between the 11 members. Assuming that the twelfth country, the UK, opts to stay out, there will be chaos as regards our reciprocal arrangements. I would like to refer to a matter which is not associated with the charter but which is very relevant at present, the manner in which citizens rights are dealt with in UK employment agencies and job finding centres, the speed with which they are dealt with and the manner in which telephone calls are dealt with. Perhaps the Minister will consider taking action in that regard.

I agree with the Deputy that the fact that the UK has opted out of this exercise has very serious implications for us and for our people both here and in England. This is a very important issue and one to which we will have to have regard in the implementation of this programme. In my view it is unacceptable to opt out of a commitment as a member of the European Community. Our people should not be disadvantaged as a consequence of the position adopted by the United Kingdom to stay apart — not for the first time — from the other 11 members in this case. I will be carefully considering the consequences of that action, particularly when the Commission introduce proposals, some of which may be outside the existing Treaty framework and will not involve the United Kingdom. The other matter referred to by the Deputy is one I will be glad to consider. We are, as the Deputy probably knows, in very close contact with a whole range of Irish representative organisations and societies in the United Kingdom. They also brought this matter to our attention.

I now call Deputy Gilmore. Will the Deputy be brief because we have to make progress on other questions also?

I share the Minister's concern about employment but I find it strange that it should surface mostly in the context of the Social Charter. Will the Minister respond to the question of a national timetable for the implementation of the measures contained in the Social Charter? The Minister recently announced that he intends to have discussions with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and has he any plans to present to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions an outline of a timetable in relation to the implementation of the measures contained in the Social Charter?

I cannot give a timetable now to implement measures that have not yet been adopted——

The Minister does not have to wait.

Let us be realistic. I have been asked to outline the timetable to do things that have not as of yet been fully considered by the Commission, in some cases, never mind the Council. What I can undertake to do is that as soon as the measures are presented to and decided by the Council, there will be no delay on our part in implementing them by way of regulation or legislation. I can give that commitment in the House and the social partners are well aware of that also.

Would the Minister agree that rather than it being a triumph for the British Prime Minister that Great Britain opted out of it, in fact, creating a major problem and undermines the very concept of the creation of a Common Market and its achievement through economic union in the context of dealing with both economic and social cohesion? Do the Government intend to take any particular steps to engage in discussions with the UK Government to try to encourage them to come back in line with the rest of Europe with regard to the Social Charter?

In the context of our regular bilateral discussions in the Anglo-Irish Agreement and discussions at the Council of Ministers' meetings, I hope we will be able to use our influence to persuade them in that direction. I will reiterate what I said, I share the Deputy's feelings, although I do not want to take on to myself the role of judge and jury of any other jurisdiction but I agree that economic and social cohesion is inter-related and inevitably linked together — one cannot have one without the other. For that reason, until it is a Community of Twelve in every sense, the EC will not have achieved the purposes of the union.