Brendan Ryan (Labour)

The Minister for Foreign Affairs said this material would be made available to the Oireachtas. If it is available can we have it before the debate? Why should we have to wait until after the debate to have what we are now told is available? Will the Leader ask the Department of Health and Children to make copies of that material available? We will be happy to have photocopies since apparently what exists is a photocopy. Mr. Travers did not see this file so it would be a help to us all to have it.

On the general area of public administration, will the Leader make time available for an updated debate on the proposed EU services directive, which is in grave danger of causing serious damage to the rights of workers in this State? I was glad to see Commissioner McCreevy adopt what he would describe as a left wing "pinko" position on the services directive for which we have reason to be grateful but this is a potentially threatening directive for many workers in this State and in Europe generally and I ask for a debate on it. This House aspires to be one in which European issues are debated and this directive appears to be very relevant.

While we are doing that we might talk about EU competition policy. The EU appears to have a competition policy which precludes state aid in such a way that it prevents investment taking place anywhere in the EU, which is what will happen if the policy it pursued with Intel is continued. It will not go somewhere else in the EU; it will go outside the EU. A competition policy which precludes investment within the EU is not a competition policy. It is a disincentive.