Mr. Richy Carrothers:

From a trade union perspective, we are talking about quality work and jobs and meeting environmental standards. All of the international best practice and examples listed in Fórsa's submission show that the terms and conditions of employment tend to be better and more accountable and democratic in public sector provision across Europe. I would avoid falling into the trap of believing this is a Dublin issue. We are talking about large swathes of rural Ireland with very poor provision. It is almost cartel-like, in that there is no selection for consumers and they have never had public provision.

We should seize the opportunity to change this. For instance, in large parts of rural France public provision is a key cornerstone of community infrastructure, providing quality environmental, as well as employment, standards. It was stated in a public discussion in the cross-party working group that the situation is almost like the wild west. We are talking about regulation of environmental and employment standards to bring community and quality work to citizens and give people the services they deserve.