Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

Last November, RTE's "Questions and Answers" featured as a panellist a leading economist from one of the banks. One of the issues under discussion was the outsourcing of employment by Irish Ferries. The views expressed by this particular panellist, who would formerly have been seen as a pillar of society, meant he was seen as an extreme radical. He was completely at variance with public opinion on the issue. He lectured people, asking what did they expect in a free market and that we needed cheap labour to keep the economy going. Essentially, he stated that the economy was the be-all and end-all.

The public have an expectation that the project was not only about building an economy but was about building a society. The efforts of people remaining longer in education, sitting in traffic jams and putting off demands for better public services were made as sacrifices necessary for nation-building. We were told for decades that we could have all these improvements when the inflation rate was under control or when the budget deficit was addressed. The reality is we are now at that point.

All the efforts were made to make the economy good enough to allow us have all of the other things. Now we are told that what we need for the booming economy is cheap labour to keep it going. Is it any wonder that the public is concerned about what type of vision for society is held? Is it any wonder that ordinary working people are concerned about their standard of living and what kind of future their children will have?

There is no doubt that concerns exist regarding living standards and the exploitation of workers. I meet indigenous Irish workers who strongly state that while they do not make an issue about working side by side with non-national workers, there must be equality of standards across the spectrum. I meet people who have a difficulty in gaining employment because other people are given an unfair advantage by virtue of the fact that these standards are not met, such as where accommodation is built into the wage rates and people work as security on building sites.

I walked behind the Polish workers in the demonstration in December. They were seeking equality of rights with their Irish working colleagues. The number of people who picked them out and applauded them along the line was noticeable. The eastern European countries were not interested in the short-term gains of the services directive but wanted better standards across Europe. They did not see the country of origin principle as advantageous to them in the long term. I have read much of what was said from that source.

I am pleased to see the lifelong learning aspect of the motion. Yesterday we saw people in Meath lose their jobs. While people who have worked on a production line for a long time require lifelong education, there is little support for part-time education, for example there is no grant assistance. This makes it difficult for people to keep their skills up to date or to diversify. That must be examined. I welcome the aspect of the motion that debates the issue of lifelong learning and the call to increase the labour inspectorate and create a Department of labour. In the past ten years it has never been needed more than it is now.

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