Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I will say a few words about the services directive but will not comment every day on the actions of our Members of the European Parliament. If I did I would have to raise many questions with Deputy Ó Caoláin about the bizarre decisions his party members continually make, so I will not go down that road.

The Government continues to support a services directive with safeguards to ensure it does not result in a race to the bottom, as I said previously. The European Commission is expected in the period ahead to return with further proposals and the issues will continue to be discussed with the stakeholders, including the social partners. The objective is to secure the optimum outcome for Ireland's and the EU's welfare and economic interests.

The Government supports the directive because over 70% of our economy now comprises trade in services, and a services directive makes good economic sense for this country. We must work to dispel the many myths surrounding the services directive and convince everyone of its benefits. It is a growing issue and the social partners have been supportive because it represents the long-term interests of workers. We must also ensure the directive fully meets employment standards, which is the reason it went through recently. It will be a long process.

There were over 1,000 amendments so I will not deal with those. We support the changes that have been made and the work that is ongoing. My colleagues in Europe have done a good job on these issues, as have other parties. They have undertaken a long process with the Bolkestein directive, as it was termed prior to Commissioner McCreevy taking over, and are working towards a successful conclusion. The issue will require much work but I welcome the decision made a few weeks ago and will continue to take an interest in how the work progresses.

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