Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1976 > Committee on the Secondary Legislation of the European Communities > Report No. 51 - Problems of Enlargement

IMEACHTAÍ AN CHOMHCHOISTE

PROCEEDINGS OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE

Dé Céadaoin, 30 Bealtaine, 1979

Wednesday, 30th May, 1979

1. The Joint Committee met at 3.30 p.m.

2. Members Present.

The following Members were present:

Deputies Clinton (in the Chair), Daly, Leonard, Noonan, Quinn and Smith; Senators Conroy, FitzGerald, Harney, Hussey, Mulcahy and Robinson.

9. Draft Report on Problems of Enlargement.

Deputy Quinn brought forward a Draft Report which was read as follows:

(i) Paragraphs 1 to 21, inclusive, agreed to.

(ii) New Paragraph.

Amendment proposed (Senator Hussey):

“After paragraph 21 to insert a new paragraph as follows:

‘22. The Joint Committee believes that enlargement may introduce a new element affecting the social policy of the Community in regard to women. The three applicant countries could fairly be regarded as socially underdeveloped compared with the present Community and the Committee believes that at present they even lag behind Ireland in the whole area affecting the position of women. The Committee is concerned that the inevitable additional demands that will fall on the Social Fund as a result of this situation should not inhibit Community assistance being available to improve the opportunities open to women in this country. The Committee believes that the aim should be to extend the catgeories of Social Fund assistance available to improve the lot of women specifically and it sincerely hopes that enlargement will not prevent this being done. As an initial step to take account of the projected large increase in the female population of the Community the Commission itself might review the staffing of its two sections dealing with women’s questions which seems numerically quite inadequate evn for present needs’.”

Amendment agreed to.

(iii) Paragraphs 22 to 27, inclusive, agreed to.

(iv) Appendix agreed to.

Draft Report, as amended, agreed to.

Ordered: To report accordingly.

14. Adjournment.

The Joint Committee adjourned at 5.40 p.m.