Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

It is therefore not surprising that business people are attracted to Ireland as the rate is a lot more attractive than in many other countries with the concomitant result that we attract workers who are coming to fill the jobs that business offers. I understand the human reaction — and I sometimes feel this way myself — of being nervous at the vertiginous level of growth which the country is undergoing. There is no precedent in our history for this type of situation and we are not quite sure what is around the next corner. I fully support the notion that adequate labour standards should be properly enforced and I am confident this will be a topic for the social partnership negotiations.

This side of the House has been subjected to a lot of argument from the moral high ground, particularly on the subject of immigration. If some reasonably senior person from Fianna Fáil, not necessarily a Minister, had raised the topic of introducing work permits, the Government would have been accused in no uncertain terms of engaging in the political race to the bottom. I would like to hear more clearly than I have heard before whether people like Senator Ryan or Deputy Michael D. Higgins in the other House, fully endorse both the tone and content of the introduction of this topic by the Labour Party. I notice it is being praised in some quarters as a shrewd political move. I am a little disappointed that the usual cheerleaders for the left and particularly for the Labour Party are using that sort of terminology and are not looking at it in the moral way that they would undoubtedly have adopted if the proposal had come from Fianna Fáil.

The Opposition and, in particular, Opposition leaders, wish to persuade the Irish people that they are exercising leadership. I do not consider Deputy Rabbitte's intervention on this subject a very edifying example of leadership. I acknowledge one can point to the 85% of people in the opinion polls who are in agreement. However, it is the duty of politicians to work through the issues, to explain the effects of taking such action and to calm fears, not to play or pander to them.

As somebody who in the past has had some relationship with and was involved with the Labour Party in the creation of a Government in 1993-94, I would not be attracted to doing business with the Labour Party if this is its policy. As somebody who defends the trade union movement I am a little disappointed that it has gone along so readily with this idea and I would not defend the movement on that issue.

I thank the Minister——