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APPENDIX 5Minutes of Proceedings of the Joint CommitteeJoint Committee on Enterprise and Small BusinessMinutes of meeting of Wednesday, 10th January, 20072. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 2, LH 2000, on Wednesday, 10th January 2007 at 2.32 p.m. 3. Attendance The following Members were in attendance:- Deputies Donie Cassidy, (in the Chair), Joe Callanan, Tony Dempsey, John Ellis (in substitution for Deputy Martin Brady), Michael Finneran (in part substitution for Deputy Ned O’Keeffe), Phil Hogan, Paddy McHugh, Breeda Moynihan-Cronin, M.J. Nolan and Ned O’Keeffe and Senators Paddy Burke (in part substitution for Senator Paul Coghlan), Paul Coghlan, Camillus Glynn (in substitution for Senator Terry Leyden), John Hanafin and Joe O’Toole. Apologies were received from Deputies Martin Brady and Ruairí Quinn. 4. Private Session It was agreed to go into private session. 5. Minutes of the meeting of 20th December 2006 The minutes of the meeting of 20th December 2006, which had been circulated in advance, were agreed and signed. 6. Correspondence (i) Statutory Instrument No. 241 of 2006 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 241 of 2006, European Communities (Noise Emission by Equipment for Use Outdoors) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 had been circulated and was noted. (ii) Statutory Instrument No. 682 of 2006 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 682 of 2006, Employment Permits Act 2006 (Commencement) Order 2006 had been circulated and was noted. (iii) Statutory Instrument No. 683 of 2006 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 683 of 2006, Employment Permits Act 2006 (Prescribed Fees and Miscellaneous Procedures) Regulations 2006 had been circulated and was noted. (iv) Statutory Instrument No. 623 of 2006 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 623 of 2006, European Communities (European Public Limited-Liability Company) (Employee Involvement) Regulations 2006 had been circulated and was noted. (v) Statutory Instrument No. 646 of 2006 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 646 of 2006, European Communities (Enforcement of Community Judgments on Trade Marks and Designs) Regulations 2006 had been circulated and was noted. a. Public Session It was agreed to go into public session. The Committee went into public session at 2.36 p.m. 7. Correspondence (vi) Correspondence from the Competition Authority re. proposed withdrawal by BUPA from the Irish market Deputy O’Keeffe expressed disappointment that the Competition Authority was not in attendance. The Chairman read the response of the Competition Authority into the record. The Competition Authority indicated that it would attend a future meeting of the Joint Committee following completion and publication of a report being prepared on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children. 8. FÁS Annual Report 2005 - Discussion with Director General, FÁS The Chairman welcomed Mr. Rody Molloy, Director General; Mr. Gerry Pyke, Assistant Director General and Mr. Roger Fox, Director Planning and Research to the meeting. Mr. Molloy gave a detailed presentation on the annual report. The following Members participated in the ensuing questions and answers — Chairman, Deputies Hogan, Callanan and Dempsey. Mr. Molloy responded to the questions raised by Members. The Chairman thanked the representatives of FÁS for attending and for contributing to a very important debate. 9. Suspension and Private Session The sitting was suspended at 3.39 p.m. and resumed in private session at 3.39 p.m. 10. Correspondence (vii) Correspondence from Assistant Commissioner Rock re. request arising from the meeting of the Joint Committee on Wednesday, 8th November 2006 The correspondence had been circulated in advance and was noted. 11. 45th Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development, 7-9 February 2007 The meeting agreed that 4 Members and an official should attend the 45th Session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development. The meeting approved the estimate of €3799 approximately per member and €3455 for an official. 12. Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals The meeting noted the following proposals which had been referred to the Joint Committee for information: COM (2006) 636 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the banning of exports and the safe storage of metallic mercury COM (2006) 696 Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Annex 1 to Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff COM (2006) 686 White Paper on enhancing the single market framework for investment funds. 13. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 3.41 p.m. sine die. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. 1st February, 2007. Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small BusinessMinutes of meeting of Thursday, 1st February, 20077. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 3, LH 2000, on Thursday, 1st February, 2007 at 9.30 a.m. 8. Attendance The following Members were in attendance:- Deputies Donie Cassidy, (in the Chair), Martin Brady, Vice-Chairman, Joe Callanan, Breeda Moynihan-Cronin, Ned O’Keeffe, Ruairí Quinn and Peter Power (in part substitution for Deputy Martin Brady) and Senators Paul Coghlan and Terry Leyden. Apologies were received from Deputy M.J. Nolan and Senator Joe O’Toole. 9. Private Session It was agreed to go into private session. 10. Minutes of the meeting of 10th January 2007 The minutes of the meeting of 10th January 2007, which had been circulated in advance, were agreed and signed. 11. Correspondence (i) Private Motor Insurance Statistics 2004 completed by the Financial Regulator in December 2006 The correspondence had been circulated in advance and was noted. (ii) Correspondence from Mr. Niall Gilligan, Main Street, Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare The Committee noted that it was awaiting the observations from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in reply to Mr. Gilligan’s earlier correspondence. (iii) Advance notice of parliamentary meetings planned by the German Bundestag during the German EU presidency The correspondence had been circulated in advance and was noted. (iv) ‘Boosting Jobs and Incomes: Policy Lessons from Reassessing the OECD Jobs Strategy’ The correspondence had been circulated in advance and was noted. (v) Statutory Instrument No. 8 of 2007 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 8 of 2007, European Communities (Names and Labelling of Textile Products) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 had been circulated and was noted. (vi) Statutory Instrument No. 9 of 2007 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 9 of 2007, European Communities (Quantitative Analysis of Binary Textile Fibre Mixtures) Regulations 2007 had been circulated and was noted. (vii) Correspondence from PIAB The letter dated 29th January from PIAB had been circulated in advance and was noted. a. Request to meet with Accident Compensation Corporation New Zealand The Committee agreed to a request from Senator Joe O’Toole to meet with representatives from the Accident Compensation Corporation of New Zealand. The meeting agreed to meet with ACC on Thursday 22nd February at 9.30 a.m. b. Proposed withdrawal by BUPA from the Irish market The Committee welcomed the announcement by Quinn Direct Insurance of the takeover of BUPA Ireland. c. Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals The meeting noted the following proposals which had been referred to the Joint Committee for information: COM(2006)830 Proposal for a Council Regulation on the Community trade mark COM(2006)692 Amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on injunctions for the protection of consumers’ interests (codified version) COM(2006)644 Proposal for a Council Decision on a Community Position concerning the decision by the WTO General Council to apply provisionally the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements COM(2006)750 Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1255/96 temporarily suspending the autonomous common customs tariff duties on certain industrial, agricultural and fishery products COM(2006)771 Proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products The meeting further noted the following proposals which had been referred to the Joint Committee for information and consideration: COM(2006)763 Global Europe — Europe’s trade defence instruments in a changing global economy — A Green Paper for public consultation COM(2006)769 Green Paper on Satellite Navigation Applications COM(2006)708 Green Paper on Modernising labour law to meet the challenges of the 21st Century d. Public Session It was agreed to go into public session. The Committee went into public session at 9.47 a.m. 10. Helping Ireland Recruit and Retain Research Groups: Discussion with Science Foundation Ireland The Chairman welcomed Prof. Mark Keane, Director General and Mr. Mattie McCabe, Director Secretariat and External Relations in Science Foundation Ireland to the meeting. Prof. Mark Keane made some opening remarks on Science Foundation Ireland. The following Members participated in the ensuing questions and answers — Chairman, Deputies Quinn, O’Keeffe and Callanan and Senator Leyden. Prof. Mark Keane responded to the questions raised by Members. The Chairman thanked the representatives of Science Foundation Ireland for attending and for contributing to a very important debate. 11. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10.19 a.m. until Wednesday, 14th February, 2007. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. 14th February, 2007. Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small BusinessMinutes of meeting of Wednesday, 14th February, 200712. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 3, LH 2000, on Wednesday, 14th February, 2007 at 9.35 a.m. 13. Attendance The following Members were in attendance:- Deputies Donie Cassidy, (in the Chair), Joe Callanan, Phil Hogan, Paddy McHugh, Ned O’Keeffe and Ruairí Quinn and Senators Paul Coghlan and Terry Leyden. Apologies were received from Deputy M.J. Nolan. 14. Private Session It was agreed to go into private session. 15. Expressions of Sympathy The Chairman proposed a note of sympathy to Deputy Paddy McHugh on the recent death of his father Tom. Members joined in the expressions of sympathy. Deputy McHugh thanked the Members for their expressions. 16. Minutes of the meeting of 1st February 2007 The minutes of the meeting of 1st February 2007, which had been circulated in advance, were agreed and signed. 17. Correspondence (i) Statutory Instrument No. 21 of 2007 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 21 of 2007, European Communities (European Public Limited — Liability Company) Regulations 2007 had been circulated and was noted. (ii) Statutory Instrument No. 22 of 2007 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 22 of 2007, European Communities (European Public Limited — Liability Company) (Forms) Regulations 2007 had been circulated and was noted. (iv) Statutory Instrument No. 23 of 2007 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 23 of 2007, Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2006 (Commencement) Order 2007 had been circulated and was noted. (viii) Response from the Office of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment regarding the Committee report entitled ‘Examination of the U.K. retail sector, planning system, predatory pricing and the unfair treatment of suppliers’ The meeting agreed to defer consideration of the correspondence and to discuss it at a future meeting. (ix) Response from the Office of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment regarding funding for the Gort Resource Recovery Park The meeting noted the correspondence and agreed to forward a copy of the correspondence to Dr. Clune. (x) Response from the Office of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs regarding funding for the Gort Resource Recovery Park The meeting noted the correspondence and agreed to forward a copy of the correspondence to Dr. Clune. (xi) The agenda for the Competitiveness Council to be held on 19th February The correspondence had been circulated in advance and was noted. a. Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals The meeting noted the following proposal which had been referred to the Joint Committee for information: COM (2006) 684 Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council banning the placing on the market and the import of or export from the Community of cat and dog fur and products containing such fur The meeting noted that the following proposal had been referred to the Joint Committee for further scrutiny and was awaiting advice from John Kissane, Consultant: COM (2006) 829 Proposal for a Council Regulation setting up a Community regime for the control of exports of dual use items and technology. 8. Annual Report 2006 & Work Programme 2007 (i) Annual Report 2006 The Annual Report of the Joint Committee for 2006 which had been circulated in advance was agreed. The Clerk was instructed to lay a copy of the Annual Report 2006 in the library. (ii) Draft Work Programme 2007 The meeting agreed the Draft Work Programme 2007 as circulated. It was agreed to prioritise the Work Programme. It was agreed to invite the Competition Authority and the Director of Consumer Affairs to discuss the following (i) Competition in the Health Insurance Market and the recently published report on the subject and (ii) the increase in grocery prices following a recent survey. The meeting was to be scheduled for Wednesday, 21st February 2007. 9. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10.05 a.m. until Wednesday, 21st February, 2007. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. 21st February, 2007. Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small BusinessMinutes of meeting of Wednesday, 21st February, 20071. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 3, LH 2000, on Wednesday, 21st February 2007 at 9.30 a.m. 2. Attendance The following Members were in attendance:- Deputies Joe Callanan, (in the Chair), Martin Brady, Paddy McHugh, M.J. Nolan, Ned O’Keeffe, Ruairi Quinn, Phil Hogan and Senators Paul Coghlan and Terry Leyden. Senator Joe O’Toole sent his apologies. 3. Public Session It was agreed to go into public session. 4. Expressions of sympathy Tributes were paid to Sandra Hogan, former Clerk to the Committee who passed away. Members rose in their places. 5. Minutes of the meeting of 14th February 2007 The minutes of the meeting of 14th February 2007, which had been circulated in advance, were agreed and signed. 6. Correspondence There were no items of correspondence discussed. 7. (i) Competition in the Health Insurance Market The Chairman welcomed Mr. William Prasifka, Mr. John Evans, Ms Jacinta MacDonnell, Mr. Ciaran Quigley and Mr. Stanley Wong from the Competition Authority. Mr. Prasifka and Ms MacDonnell made a short presentation to the Committee on competition in the health insurance market. The following Members participated in the ensuing questions and answers — Deputies: Phil Hogan, Ruairi Quinn, Ned O’Keefe and Senator Leyden. The Chairman thanked the representatives from The Competition Authority for attending and for contributing to the discussion. (ii) The increase in grocery prices following the abolition of the Grocery Prices Order The Chairman welcomed Ms Ann Fitzgerald, Director of Consumer Affairs and interim Chairperson of the National Consumer Agency and Mr. Roderick O’Mahoney of the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Ms Fitzgerald made a short statement on the issue of grocery price increases since the abolition of the Grocery Prices Order. Mr Prasifka of the Competition Authority also made a presentation to the Committee on the matter. The following Members participated in the ensuing questions and answers — Deputies: Ruairi Quinn, Phil Hogan, Ned O’Keefe. The Chairman thanked the representatives from the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs and the Competition Authority, for attending and for contributing to the discussion. 8. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10.47 a.m. until Wednesday 21st March 2007 when the Joint Committee will meet for a discussion with Mr Tom Reeves (Chair Commission for Energy Regulation) on the increase in energy prices and the effects on the consumer and small business. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. 7th March, 2007. Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small BusinessMinutes of meeting of Wednesday, 7th March, 20071. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 3, LH 2000, on Wednesday, 7th March 2007 at 9.30 a.m. 2. Attendance The following Members were in attendance:- Deputies Martin Brady, (in the Chair), Joe Callanan, Phil Hogan, Paddy McHugh, Ned O’Keeffe, and Senators Paul Coghlan, Terry Leyden and Joe O’Toole. Deputy John Carty substituted for Deputy Tony Dempsey. The Chairman Deputy Donie Cassidy and Deputies Breeda Moynihan-Cronin and Ruairi Quinn sent their apologies. 3. Private Session It was agreed to go into private session. 4. Minutes of the meeting of 21st February 2007 The minutes of the meeting of 21st February 2007, which had been circulated in advance, were agreed and signed. 5. Correspondence (i) Correspondence from Minister Tony Killeen re: Mr Niall Gilligan, Sixmilebridge, Co. Clare The correspondence had been circulated in advance and was noted. (ii) Summary and Main Conclusions of the Annual Parliamentary Conference on the WTO in Geneva The correspondence had been circulated in advance and was noted. (iii) Statutory Instrument No. 49 of 2007 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 49 of 2007, European Communities (Companies) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 had been circulated in advance and was noted. (iv) Statutory Instrument No. 61 of 2007 A copy of Statutory Instrument No. 61 of 2007, Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 (Commencement) Order 2007 had been circulated in advance and was noted. 6. Public Session It was agreed to go into public session. The committee went into public session at 9.42 a.m. 7. Discussion with the Mr Tom Reeves, the Chairman of the Commission for Energy Regulation The Vice Chairman welcomed Mr. Tom Reeves, Commissioner Michael Tutty and Deputy Commissioner Eugene Coughlan to the meeting. Mr. Reeves made a presentation to the Committee on energy prices and the effects on the consumer and small business. The following Members participated in the ensuing questions and answers — Deputies: Phil Hogan and Joe Callanan and Senators Terry Leyden and Joe O’Toole. The Vice Chairman thanked the representatives from the Commission for Energy Regulation for attending and for contributing to the discussion. 8. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10.38 a.m. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. 21st March, 2007. Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small BusinessMinutes of meeting of Wednesday, 14th March, 20071. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 1, LH 2000, on Wednesday, 14th March 2007 at 2.00 p.m. 2. Attendance The following Members were in attendance: Deputies Donie Cassidy (in the Chair), Joe Callanan, Phil Hogan, and Senators Paul Coghlan, John Hanafin, Terry Leyden and Joe O’Toole. Senator Maurice Cummins substituted for Deputy Coghlan and Senator Camillus Glynn substituted for Senator Leyden for part of proceedings. Apologies were received from Deputies Ruairí Quinn, M.J. Nolan and Breeda Moynihan-Cronin. 3. Private Session It was agreed to go into private session. 4. Correspondence There were no items of correspondence discussed. 5. Public Session It was agreed to go into public session. The committee went into public session at 2.25 p.m. 6. Reform of the |Irish Insurance Market. Discussion with Mr. Myles O’Reilly Consultant. The publication of the final report on insurance reform by the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business was discussed. The Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, expressed his appreciation for the support given by Ministers, including, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Transport, and Ministers Harney and Brennan who assisted the work in its initial stages. The Chairman expressed his appreciation to those in the insurance industry and others who made presentations during 2006 and also to Mr. Myles O’Reilly and Mr. Eoin Faherty for their contributions. Formal agreement of the report was proposed by Deputy Hogan and seconded by Deputy Callanan and Senators O’Toole and Coghlan. 7. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 2.32 p.m. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. 16st March, 2007. Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business Minutes of meeting of Wednesday, 21st March, 20071. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 3, LH 2000, on Wednesday, 21st March 2007 at 9.30a.m. 2. Attendance The following Members were in attendance: Deputies Joe Callanan (in the Chair), Ned O’Keeffe, Ruairí Quinn and Senators Paul Coghlan, Terry Leyden and Joe O’Toole. Deputy Ollie Wilkinson substituted for Deputy Tony Dempsey. Apologies were received from Deputies Pat Breen, Donie Cassidy, Phil Hogan and Breeda Moynihan-Cronin. 3. Public Session It was agreed to go into public session. The committee went into public session at 9.36a.m. 4. Minutes of meetings of 7th and 14th March 2007 Minutes of meetings of 7th and 14th March were agreed and signed. 5. Discussion with Mr. Paul Appleby, Director, Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement. The Chairman welcomed Mr. Paul Appleby, Director of Corporate Enforcement, and his colleagues, Mr. Adrian Brennan and Mr. Kevin Prendergast, to the meeting and then invited Mr. Appleby to make his presentation. As this was Mr. Appleby’s first occasion appearing before the Joint Committee, he proposed to outline his role as Director of Corporate Enforcement and to provide the Committee with an overview of his office’s impact since its establishment five years ago under the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001. The following Members participated in the ensuing questions and answers - Deputies: Ruairí Quinn and Ned O’Keeffe and Senators Paul Coghlan and Joe O’Toole. The acting chairman thanked the representatives from the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement for attending and for contributing to the discussion. 6. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10.39a.m. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. 4th April 2007. Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small BusinessMinutes of meeting of Wednesday, 28th March, 20071. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 3, LH 2000, on Wednesday, 28th March 2007 at 9.30a.m. 2. Attendance The following Members were in attendance: Deputies Donie Cassidy (in the Chair), Joe Callanan, Phil Hogan, Paddy McHugh, Ned O’Keeffe and Ruairí Quinn and Senators Paul Coghlan, Terry Leyden and Joe O’Toole. Apologies were received from Deputy Pat Breen. 3. Private Session It was agreed to go into private session. The committee went into private session at 9.41a.m. 4. Report by Senator Terry Leyden - ‘Examination of the effectiveness of Irish trade promotion abroad and the State Agencies involved’ The report prepared by Senator Terry Leyden entitled ‘Examination of the effectiveness of Irish trade promotion abroad and the State Agencies involved’ was considered. Senator Leyden gave a broad outline of the report and the report was adopted. 5. Report by Deputy Paddy McHugh — ‘Effect of the establishment of the BMW Region’ The report prepared by Deputy Paddy McHugh entitled ‘Effect of the establishment of the BMW Region’ was considered. Deputy McHugh clarified some points in relation to the report during a discussion with the Committee and the report was then adopted. The Joint Committee agreed that copies of both reports be laid in the Library of the Oireachtas. 6. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10.09a.m. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. 4th April, 2007. Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small BusinessMinutes of meeting of Tuesday, 3rd April, 20071. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 4, LH 2000, on Tuesday, 3rd April 2007 at 3.49p.m. 2. Attendance The following Members were in attendance: Deputies Joe Callanan, Donie Cassidy (in the Chair), M.J. Nolan, Ruairi Quinn and Senators Paul Coghlan, Terry Leyden and Joe O’Toole. Deputy Bernard Allen substituted for Deputy Phil Hogan. 3. Public Session It was agreed to go into public session. . 4. Consideration of Motion re Competition Act 2002 Section 18 (5) and (6) Order 2007 The meeting was called to consider the motion “That the proposal that Dáil Éireann, pursuant to the provisions of section 18 (7) of the Competition Act 2002 (No.14 2002), hereby confirms the Competition Act 2002 (Section 18 (5) and (6) Order 2007 (S.I. 122 of 2007) made under section 18 (5) and (6) of that Act, copies of which were laid on 26th March, 2007”. A similar motion was referred to the Joint Committee by Seanad Éireann. The Joint Committee was requested to consider the Order and report back no later than 5th April 2007. The Chairman welcomed Minister Martin and his officials to the meeting and invited him to make his comments on the Order. The following members contributed to the ensuing questions and answers: Deputies: Joe Callanan, Bernard Allen, M.J. Nolan and Ruairi Quinn and Senators: Paul Coghlan, Terry Leyden and Joe O’Toole. Senator Paul Coghlan declared an interest in the matter given that he is a shareholder in Radio Kerry. The Chairman thanked the Minister and his officials for their contribution to the discussion. 6. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 3.58 p.m. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. 4th April 2007. Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small BusinessMinutes of meeting of Wednesday 4th April, 20071. The Joint Committee met in Committee Room 4, LH 2000, on Tuesday, 3rd April 2007 at 9.34 a.m. 2. Attendance The following Members were in attendance: Deputies Joe Callanan, Donie Cassidy (in the Chair), Phil Hogan, Paddy McHugh, M.J. Nolan, and Ned O’Keeffe and Senators Paul Coghlan, Terry Leyden and Joe O’Toole. Apologies were received from Deputies Breeda Moynihan-Cronin and Ruairi Quinn. 3. Private Session It was agreed to go into private session to discuss a number of housekeeping matters. 4. Minutes of meetings of 21st and 28th March and 3rd April 2007 The minutes of the meetings of 21st and 28th March and 3rd April 2007 were agreed and signed. 5. Correspondence There were no items of correspondence discussed. 6. EU Scrutiny Legislative Proposals — Reports to be agreed Four draft reports relating to outstanding EU legislative proposals which had been circulated were noted: REPORT NO. 29 Relating to two proposals: COM(2002)460: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and amending Directive 2001-34-EEC. And COM(2003)138: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonisation of transparency requirements with regard to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34. REPORT NO. 30 COM(2003)17: Green Paper — European Space Policy REPORT NO. 31 COM(2003)270: Green Paper on Services of General Interest REPORT NO. 32 COM(2003)827: Proposal for a Council Decision conferring jurisdiction on the Court of Justice in disputes relating to the Community patent AND COM(2003)828: Proposal for a Council Decision establishing the Community Patent Court and concerning appeals before the Court of First Instance. 7. Report of attendance at 45th Session of the United Nations Commision for Social Development The report of the delegation attendance at the 45th Session of the United Nations Commission Commision for Social Development which was held in New York from 7th to 16th February 2007 was circulated and noted. 8. Public Session It was agreed to go into public session. 9. Discussion with officials from the Department of Finance regarding the National Development Plan (2000-2006) (Regional Development) The Chairman welcomed Mr. Pat Casey, Mr Dermot Nolan, Mr Declan Kelly and John Palmer from the Department of Finance to the meeting and then invited Mr. Casey to make his presentation on the regional development aspects of the National Development Plan. The following Members participated in the ensuing questions and answers - The Chairman, Deputy Donie Cassidy and Deputies Paddy McHugh, Joe Callanan and Phil Hogan The Chairman thanked the representatives from the Department of Finance for attending and for contributing to the discussion. 6. Any Other Business There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 10.50 a.m sine die. _________________________ Donie Cassidy, T.D., Chairman. April 2007. |
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