Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I assure the House that as we go through the negotiations we will embark on a consultative process with the stakeholders, a process which has been totally open and transparent, as anyone who has taken the trouble to visit my Department's website will see and as Deputy Harkin has done. I say this because we have been consistently posting on that site all the developments that have been taking place on the directive, as well as consistently calling for inputs from the stakeholders concerned. This is in addition to the numerous meetings my Department has had and will continue to have with stakeholders, including the social partners.

Reference to a greater trade in services often leads to hostility. In part, this is understandable given the sensitive nature of some services, especially public services, and the difficulty in controlling quality in service provision. However, the calls for opposing liberalisation in services often closely mirror the protectionist arguments against the creation of a single market in goods two decades ago.

We must be careful to draw a line between genuine fears of a lowering of standards on the one hand and short-sighted protectionism by a myriad of interest groups on the other. I encourage all involved to engage in an intelligent debate on the services directive that focuses on what it proposes to do rather than inaccurately fault it for every perceived ill of globalisation. As of now, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. That is the position of every country involved in the process to date.

We are a small island nation that depends on trade to create our wealth and we export 85% of everything we produce. The same applies to services. We need access to markets in Europe and throughout the world. That has always been a bottom line in terms of Ireland's economic development, especially since we shed our protectionist attitude of earlier decades. From the 1960s onwards we have been outward looking and have sought to access markets. In the context of social partnership we have built up an extensive social protection model in this country. We have increased living standards dramatically over the past decade. The Government can be trusted to continue this twin-track approach in terms of expanding Irish wealth, improving living standards and improving conditions for Irish workers. The rewards in terms of improved standards of living for all Irish citizens will be significant if we succeed in building a true single market for services in Europe.

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