Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)

While the Minister has come out with much political bluff, he has been forced to concede that the directive must be fundamentally changed if it is to be acceptable to European workers. A short time ago, Deputy Fiona O'Malley stated that "a welcome but modest level of honesty is finally creeping into the debate on this issue". While her comment was aimed at the Opposition, perhaps she should have directed her remarks towards her Minister.

The European Commission is pushing a right wing neo-liberal agenda and wishes to drive down wages and conditions. The proof can be seen in Commissioner McCreevy's attitude towards the Vaxholm Laval case in Sweden where he clearly stands with the exploiter against the Swedish trade unions who are trying to protect wages and conditions of migrant workers operating in Sweden. Workers in the European Union cannot rely on the Government to protect their rights. They must rely on their own power and organisation to fight a relentless drive by the major corporations to drive down wages and conditions to maximise profits. In recent years, we have seen many struggles by working people in Europe in this respect.

As far as Irish workers are concerned, I vehemently disagree with the idea floated by the leader of the Labour Party, namely, that a new regime of work permits is the way to protect workers' rights.

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