Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I wish to share my time with Deputy Costello.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I welcome the outcome of the European Council regarding the impact of the Lisbon treaty on Ireland and on the Irish Constitution. The Labour Party supported the Lisbon treaty last year. We believed then and we believe now that the Lisbon treaty makes the European Union more democratic, more effective in dealing with urgent international problems such as the financial crisis and climate change and, crucially, that the Charter of Fundamental Rights directs the EU towards a progressive, human rights-based, social Europe that will benefit all of our citizens.

As a result, we were disappointed when the treaty was rejected in the referendum last year. However, democracy is a two-way conversation. It is as much about listening as it is about speaking and it was extremely important to listen to the concerns expressed by our citizens about the Lisbon treaty. This was facilitated by representations to the Oireachtas committee on the treaty and significant research into the reasons voters chose to reject the treaty.

Having listened to those concerns, the other member states have responded by guaranteeing that if the Lisbon treaty is ratified, every member state will nominate a commissioner to the European Commission and that the treaty will not supersede the Irish Constitution on the right to life, the family, education, taxation or defence. The Labour Party was clear that the European Union has no jurisdiction over such issues as abortion, family life, taxation policy or Irish neutrality, and that the Lisbon treaty did not change this fact. However, the clear and unambiguous agreement by all other 26 member states that the Lisbon treaty does not, and cannot, affect these aspects of Irish domestic policy is to be welcomed.

The declaration on workers' rights and social policy, as made by the European Council, represents a unanimous agreement on how the Lisbon treaty impacts workers' rights and public services. The Lisbon treaty will have a very positive impact in these areas. The Lisbon treaty, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights that is part of it, further integrate the economic and the social aspects of European Union membership so that they complement each other more effectively and so that a better balance is struck between the demands of the market and the needs of society.

Much of the argument on the last Lisbon referendum was taken up with issues that were not actually affected by the treaty. One false argument, which was repeatedly asserted, was that somehow the Lisbon treaty would worsen the rights of workers in the EU. What seemed to get lost in the debates was that the Lisbon treaty does change workers' rights but for the better. It is worth recalling the provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which include: the right of workers to information and consultation in their place of work; the right to collective bargaining and action; protection against unfair dismissal; the right to fair and just working conditions; and a prohibition on the exploitation of younger workers.

If the Lisbon treaty is passed, all future European Union legislation will have to have regard to these fundamental rights. The concerns about workers' rights, which came to the fore during the Lisbon referendum campaign last summer, largely arose because of a failure to adequately address workers' rights at home, not in Brussels. There are at least eight commitments on employment rights, made in the social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, and in the subsequent transitional document, which are yet to be passed into law. These include the temporary agency workers directive, which was agreed over one year ago, but which the Tánaiste informs us will take a further two years to pass into law despite the fact that this vacuum in Irish law has already given rise to the exploitation of Irish and EU workers.

Also included are the following: the Employment Law Compliance Bill (2008), which provides for statutory supervision of the workplace, and which was supposed to be enacted by the end of last year; the Industrial Relations Bill, which is intended to shore up the rights of those employed in the hotel, catering and construction industries; and the Employment Agency Regulation Bill. The list also includes anti-victimisation legislation, which is to protect those workers who choose to join a trade union, and which was promised for March 2009 and legislation to address employee representation at work, which was supposed to be enacted by June 2009, but which has not even been published.

Also included are the amendment of section 4 of the Competition Act 2002 to exempt freelance journalists, session musicians and voice-over actors and the transposition of the optional pensions provisions on the transfer of undertakings directive into Irish law. Furthermore, if the Government is serious about addressing concerns over workers' rights, it can re-visit the posting of workers directive to ensure that the existing rights of workers in Ireland cannot be undermined.

There can be no ambiguity about where the Irish State stands when it comes to workers' rights. It must be clear that if the Lisbon treaty is ratified by the Irish people, the workers' rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights will be enshrined in domestic legislation. I call on the Government to demonstrate that it is genuinely committed to strong and fair employment rights by enacting the outstanding legislation promised under Towards 2016. Where possible, this legislation should be in place, or at least published, before the second referendum on the Lisbon treaty.

If this Administration fails to do so, then if returned to government, the Labour Party will do the following: as a matter of priority legislate to protect the rights of temporary agency workers; ensure that the posting of workers directive does not undermine existing workers' rights in Ireland; legislate for the statutory supervision of workplaces; ensure the legal right to adequate representation of employees in their place of work; make it illegal to discriminate against an employee because he or she is a member of a trade union; and pass the Industrial Relations Bill to protect vulnerable workers in the hotel, catering and construction industries.

The Labour Party in government will also commit to giving domestic effect to the principles enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. If the Lisbon treaty is passed and following consultation with the social partners, the Labour Party in government will legislate for the right to information and consultation within the workplace, the right to collective bargaining and action and the right to fair and just working conditions.

Just as strong and fair workers' rights are an integral part of a stronger social Europe, so too are public services. The Lisbon treaty provides, for the first time, a legal basis to distinguish between public services that are not suitable for competition, and other services of general economic interest. This is to protect public services, not to undermine them. Furthermore, Article 9 of the Lisbon treaty specifically states:

In defining and implementing its policies and actions, the Union shall take into account requirements linked to the promotion of a high level of employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against social exclusion, and a high level of education, training and protection of human health.

The solemn declaration reiterating the rights of member states to "provide, commission and organise non-economic services of general interest", or public services, is simply a statement of fact that public services are not threatened by the ratification of the Lisbon treaty.

There is no question but that the past 12 months have been extremely damaging for Ireland's image internationally. Ireland needs to restore international confidence and its reputation. We need to make it clear that we are fully engaged in the EU and not semi-detached from it. It is not enough to protest that Irish voters are pro-European Union. We have to demonstrate that we are willing to take responsibility for our membership. That means sharing the responsibility for the European Union's future. We cannot do that from a semi-detached position.

This is not an issue of international public relations or diplomacy; it is about investment and jobs. We cannot ignore the reality of how our country is being portrayed in the international press, and the effect that has on those who make critical decisions about jobs and about lending money to our banks. We need to make it clear that Ireland is open for business and that we welcome inward investment and the jobs that go with it. The ratification of the Lisbon treaty will send out a clear message that Ireland wants to remain fully engaged with the European Union.

At the beginning, I stated that democracy is a two-way conversation. Last June the people rejected the Lisbon treaty because they were concerned about how it would affect the Irish Constitution and our domestic policy on tax, neutrality and workers' rights. We now have guarantees that the Lisbon treaty did not, and does not, affect Ireland's ability to provide its public services, decide on ethical issues, preserve its low corporate tax rates or to remain neutral, and that in the case of workers' rights, the Lisbon treaty actually strengthens them.

In the autumn, the people will get a chance to respond and to look again at what the Lisbon treaty offers Ireland and what Ireland offers the European Union. Ireland's position within the European Union must be restored with the ratification of the Lisbon treaty so that we are part of a Union that is good for business, good for workers, and good for our citizens.

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