Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 54: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position he will adopt at the European Council on 5 December 2007 in relation to the European Parliament and European Council Directive on Working Conditions for Temporary Agency Workers which was first issued by the European Commission on 20 March 2002 and received a first reading in the European Parliament and which the Irish Government has failed to support in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31389/07]

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland will continue to adopt a constructive approach to the European Union negotiations on the proposed EU directive on temporary agency work. While I support the objective of providing for the equal treatment of agency workers, the proposal for consideration as currently drafted is imbalanced. We have concerns about exemptions or derogations that would be to the benefit or advantage of some member states but not others. Ireland has indicated with other member states that if permanent derogations through collective agreements are to be allowed, other means providing for derogations should also be allowed in those member states without such collective agreements.

Ireland considers that the derogation from equal treatment provided for in Article 5.4 of the proposed directive in respect of short duration temporary agency assignments of a maximum of six weeks is too short. This is particularly so in comparison to the derogation available to those member states with collective agreements that can and do deviate from equal treatment in pay levels and in the areas of wider working and employment conditions under the terms of Article 5.3. In some cases, these derogations can be for six months or longer.

A longer time period than currently on offer in respect of short duration assignments — a maximum of six weeks is being proposed under Article 5.4 — would represent a more balanced approach. The short time period on offer could damage future job creation prospects and deter the use of temporary agency working, which would be to the detriment of our economy. This is particularly the case because agency work can provide in certain circumstances a useful stepping stone for some persons to enter the labour market. The opportunities available to agency workers should not be reduced as a result of any new arrangements. Overall, the longer period being sought would provide the best balance between employment creation and flexibility on the one hand with employment protection and security on the other.

Ireland will continue to adopt a constructive approach to these discussions. In principle, we support the thrust of the directive, but we are still participants in a wider negotiation on the details.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply and I support his efforts to ensure we have one of the most flexible labour markets in the EU. We have had it for many years, but it need not come at the cost of denying agency workers on sites or locations working alongside domestic workers the same rights as those on the shop floor. This is the net point. Some 27,000 people, 2% of the workforce, are agency workers and this number will increase. As the economy takes a downturn, the likelihood is that employers in some sectors will, for competitive reasons, shift from the traditional form of employment to that of agency workers. In the Minister of State's city and elsewhere, it will create racialist and nationalist tensions of a xenophobic nature between Irish workers displaced and replaced by agency workers.

I am asking a simple question. Why can the Minister of State not embrace the principle of the directive and support it in December when the Portuguese President tables it? Why can the Minister of State not introduce legislation subsequently and enact it domestically in terms and conditions appropriate to the Irish labour market to avoid some of the fears he has expressed regarding how the directive has been framed? We are facing a serious problem. I do not understand why the Government cannot agree with SIPTU and the Labour Party's position on having no discrimination between workers in the workplace, irrespective of where they come from.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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We support the thrust of the directive but the difficulty is that other member states have derogations and collective agreements. That allows them to enact legislation which enshrines disparity between agency workers and others, putting Ireland at a competitive disadvantage to them. We want to achieve a level playing pitch in our negotiations. We do not want to undermine competitiveness but, equally, we accept agency workers must be protected. It is unfair to claim Ireland is the only EU member state holding up this directive. Discussions and negotiations are ongoing. As Deputy Quinn was a Minister, he will be aware of how Council negotiations proceed.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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It is precisely because I know how Council negotiations proceed that I have put this question. For those coming to Ireland as agency workers, particularly in the skilled and semi-skilled areas, the type of competition in question is not necessarily across borders from the continent to the island. Ireland is not suffering in attracting labour.

Ireland will remain attractive to other workers outside the island of Ireland. My concern is that we will institutionalise discrimination of indigenous workers. They will be at risk if there is a downturn in the economy, as we know there will be, but it will not be as large as some fear. The Minister of State knows what an employer would do if faced with the choice of cheap agency workers or letting Irish workers go to remain competitive, not in the continental market but in the Irish market. Irish workers will be let go because they are dearer than agency workers. This will be a problem for all of us, not just in the workplace. Endorsing the directive is important.

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I share the Deputy's concerns. Agency workers being paid below the normal rate is a matter that is being examined in legislation. The directive is in a different context as we would put ourselves at a competitive disadvantage if we sign up to it. We are negotiating in that context. In protecting employment regulation orders, EROs, and registered employment agreements, REAs, the Government will not allow agency workers to be paid less than agreed labour rates. It can be dealt with through legislation.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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We saw what happened in Irish Ferries. The only way to deal with it is through immediate domestic legislation. When will that legislation be introduced?

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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We reacted quickly to the situation in Irish Ferries.