Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I am concerned about sensitive social issues. I want to make it clear that the support of the Labour Party cannot be taken for granted by the Government. In our submission to the sub-committee, we stated categorically that our interest lies where the interests of workers lie. That is included in the report, which strongly reflects our views on the way forward. Some 40% of the electorate stated that the validation of workers' rights is an important issue for them.

When the Taoiseach travels to the meeting of EU Heads of State in Brussels on 11 and 12 December, he will present the elements of the solution as he sees it. The Labour Party considers that it is absolutely essential that the Charter of Fundamental Rights is included in the treaty. It should not be possible to opt out from that. The charter must be at the heart of any new solution. There must be no question of an opt-out. Member states need to be able to provide public services for their citizens without any fear of competition or privatisation. The posting of workers directive must be amended to the satisfaction of the European trade union movement and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The fundamental rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining and industrial action must take precedence when the four freedoms of the Single Market come into conflict in the workplace. Various proposals have been made in this area. The European Trade Union Confederation proposed that a protocol could be appended to a future treaty to clarify the situation.

The loose transposition of the posting of workers directive by a number of countries, including Ireland, has allowed the European Court of Justice to interpret the Monti clause, which was added to the services directive, in a way that disadvantages workers in terms of industrial action and pay and conditions in a number of cases. I refer to cases in which there is an apparent conflict between the four freedoms, such as the Lavalle, Rüffert, Luxembourg and Viking cases. There are serious concerns about the fundamental right of each worker to carry out his or her business in a way that is normal in his or her host country. The posting of workers from other countries to work on a temporary basis has caused a huge amount of grief in the trade union movement. It was largely responsible for such a large percentage of workers stating that they are unhappy with the direction the European Union is taking in the area of workers' rights. If this issue is not addressed, it will be impossible for the Labour Party and the labour movement to support any resolution the Government might negotiate with our European partners. At no stage have I heard the Taoiseach articulate in public that he intends to agree a defined position on these matters with his counterparts in the other 26 EU member states.

The Government needs to engage in consultation with the Opposition parties. Before this debate, I hoped the Taoiseach would mention some of the matters which the Government intends to negotiate with its partners. I refer to matters in respect of which the Government thought it had made progress, and positive work has taken place, over recent days and weeks. Unfortunately, we are as much in the dark following the Taoiseach's speech as we were before he entered the Chamber this afternoon. It seems that when the Taoiseach leaves the country on Thursday, we will be none the wiser on what is his bargaining position. Therefore, we do not know whether he will enjoy the support of this House in that respect. Unless we are consulted further before Thursday, the Taoiseach will be unable to say to his European counterparts that he has the support of this House. Almost all Members of the House supported his position in the referendum earlier this year. We have to make it clear where we are going in the future, however. We cannot go together if the Taoiseach does not say where he stands on these issues. He has not yet indicated his position at this time. Before this debate finishes, perhaps he will give us some indication of how he proposes to proceed between now and Thursday. The Minister, Deputy Martin, might highlight some of the elements of the roadmap the Taoiseach will present to his colleagues. We will then be in a position to decide whether we are willing to participate in that road map. I ask the Taoiseach to make that clear. I thank him for staying to listen to what I have to say.

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