Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

All government spending on goods would come under public procurement. My understanding of the definition of public services is a service where there is no commercial element to it. However, when one sees public services delivered in this State, be it health, education or all the other public services, obviously there is a commercial element to it. It is the narrowness of the definition that worries us. The Minister mentioned that 0.7% is a low figure. In Ireland that would mean the displacement of about 13,000 jobs. I do not know of any plan at present to deal with that level of displacement. Is there a plan from the Government side in regard to that? There is a level of convergence currently within and outside the treaty. We have seen the convergence outside the treaty start to ramp up, because the treaty is the political yardstick for development. Things such as cleaning meat with lactic acid, which was not allowed previously, will be allowed by the European side.

The importation of tar sands oil from Canada has rocketed. What does convergence mean in respect of these particular issues? We have regulatory standards that are higher than the United States and it will mean that there will be a reduction in our standards whether that will be workers' rights or environmental protection. How does the Minister envisage that our negotiators can fight against that?