| Office of the Speaker |
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SUB-GROUP TO CONSIDER THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES FACING NORTHERN IRELAND Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday, 15 August 2006 in Room 135, Parliament Buildings at 10.00am. In the Chair: David McClarty Present: Roy Beggs The meeting commenced at 10.07am in closed session. 1. Apologies Esmond Birnie (Mr Beggs attended the meeting as UUP representative in place of Mr Birnie). Michelle Gildernew MP (Mr McElduff attended the meeting as SF representative in place of Ms Gildernew). Sean Neeson (Mr McCarthy attended part of the meeting as Alliance representative in place of Mr Neeson). Peter Weir (Mr Simpson attended the meeting as DUP representative in place of Mr Weir). 2. Draft Minutes of Meetings on 10 August 2006 These were agreed for publication on the Assembly’s website. 3. Matters Arising Mr Simpson declared his interest in the meat industry and the manufacturing sector. Mr McElduff joined the meeting at 10.10am Members noted a memo to the Preparation for Government Committee and the response received, confirming that the sub-group should take evidence from the Youth Forum after the 25 August report deadline and incorporate that evidence as an addendum to its report. Members noted a letter from the Secretary of State of 7 August 2006 to Mr Jim Wells regarding the attendance of officials and Ministers at meetings of the sub-group and information on a working group on industrial de-rating. It was agreed to ask the Preparation for Government Committee to approve calling the Minister, Maria Eagle to appear before the sub-group after the 25 August report deadline and that this evidence would form an addendum to the report. It was also agreed that information regarding the terms of reference and membership of the industrial de-rating working group would be sought from David Hanson’s office. 4. Additional Evidence Received from Witnesses Members noted the additional information, requested at recent evidence sessions, received from the following organisations: Federation of Small Businesses; Mr Beggs requested further information from the Department of Education in respect of statistical information provided. The meeting continued in open session at 10.30am. 5. Written Evidence Dr McDonnell joined the meeting at 10.30am. Paul Moore presented his summary and analysis paper on the written evidence provided to the sub-group up to 11 August 2006. Mr McLaughlin joined the meeting at 11.00am. Mr Neeson left the meeting at 11.02am. Mr McCarthy joined the meeting at 11.06am. It was agreed that a grid should be prepared for Thursday’s meeting identifying the issues emerging from the oral and written evidence in relation to the sub-group’s terms of reference. A further column should also be included in the grid to enable Members to identify the options in response to the issues raised. Mr McCarthy left the meeting at 11.24am. Members noted the briefing paper prepared by Dr Peter Gileece on ‘The Contribution of Education Policy to Economic Growth in the Republic of Ireland’ presented at the last meeting. Members noted the Written Evidence section of the sub-group’s report compiling the written submissions received up to 11 August 2006. Members noted a further written submission (received after 11 August) from the Rural Development Council and a letter from the Special EU Programmes Body declining the invitation to provide a written submission. The meeting continued in open session at 11.26am. 6. Any Other Business No other items of business were raised. 7. Next Meeting The next meeting of the sub-group was arranged for Thursday 17 August 2006 at 10.00am. It was agreed that the each of the parties would prepare a short summary paper of their views against the terms of reference for the sub-group at the next meeting. The meeting adjourned at 11.28am. |