Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I am happy to second the motion. This issue has emerged quickly considering it is only approximately seven months since the European Union expanded on 1 May 2004. In that period of time we have experienced a rapid level of social change of which the arrival of many thousands of workers from the new accession states is only one element. It is urgent that the impact on wage rates and the labour force of the arrival and exploitation of such large numbers of new workers is addressed. This motion is an attempt to bring this matter higher on the Government's agenda. It will be on the agenda for the partnership talks and that is welcome but it must be managed in that context. Considering how quickly this issue has developed it is important that the Government respond quickly.

Our motion proposes a framework of responses which is reasonable, possible and comprises positive, practical ways the Government can act on this issue. If the Government does not act there will be consequences. There may already be consequences of which we are not aware. The impact on the fabric of our society of an outbreak of xenophobia or a serious level of negativity towards immigrant workers would be very serious.

Let us look at the context of this debate. I quote from Deputy Rabbitte in the Labour Party policy document published this week:

There are two principal views in this debate and they are present right across the EU. One view — with which our Government has been associated — is that employers should have free access to an unlimited supply of cheap labour ... The other view is that we must defend the European social model and social protection. Labour takes the latter position.

That is the context for our policy and our motion. We support a European social model and social protection. Workers coming from poorer nations, new members of the European Union deserve to be protected. There is increasing evidence that they are not being protected but exploited and the impact of that exploitation is on already low-paid workers and is driving down the wage rates in a number of industries, particularly in construction.

Last November SIPTU president Jack O'Connor cited CSO figures to confirm the race to the bottom, which refers to the debate around the degradation of wages and its impact in the private sector. He cited the latest comparative earnings statistics published by the CSO in November and said they show that the absolute minimum Sustaining Progress increases for the 12 months to June 2005 should have yielded at the very least a 4% increase in average earnings in the private sector. This was at the point of the expansion of the European Union. By last November, evidence was published showing that the rate of earnings increase in the private sector was not as high as it should have been. Instead, average earnings in business services including transport had only increased by 3.3%, while earnings increased by only 2.7% in the retail trade. Ominously, average earnings for all industrial workers had only increased by 2.4%, lower than what would have been expected, given the framework of Sustaining Progress and the pay increase contained therein. That would certainly appear to be more evidence of the exploitation of foreign workers. The impact of this is very serious for communities all over the country. The whole reaction to the Irish Ferries dispute is that Irish people do not support the Government's approach.

The Labour Party supported the issue of open access to Ireland under the Nice treaty, because we support the free movement of people. On the surface, it looks like the best way forward for everyone, but it will only work if exploitation does not occur. Against the background of evidence of exploitation, the Government must act as soon as possible. What we are saying now does not undermine our position of support during the Nice treaty debate, but it brings forward a framework to deal with a situation which is evolving as we speak.

In July 2005, I went around a town in north Tipperary knocking on doors. I entered a three year old estate of approximately 60 houses, of which 48 were on the register. It was a Friday evening and quite a significant number of people were at home. Of the 48 houses on the register, only 12 of the registered inhabitants still lived on the estate, which I thought was quite a high figure. The people who had replaced them were all from eastern Europe. Between 30 and 34 of those houses were occupied by people from eastern Europe, which is fine. However, I did some research on it afterwards and discovered that around 15% to 20% of the population of the town now come from eastern Europe. That has serious implications for education resources and for the resources of that town. This issue is not being examined or planned and I suggest it urgently needs to be addressed.