Susan O'Keeffe (Labour)

I thank the Minister for being here. Let us face it, the way in which workers are treated nowadays is increasingly shabby, which, I think, was the word used by Senator Cullinane. When I turned on the television last night, I saw British Aerospace workers who had learned about the pending redundancies in the media. We have heard this story over and over again. That is the concern, that in an increasingly employers' world shabby behaviour becomes habitual.

I am slightly concerned to hear the Minister, Deputy Bruton, say that while the protection and enhancement of employment rights remain paramount, there is a need to ensure Ireland remains an attractive destination for foreign direct investment. The question now is what is attractive and what makes a country attractive to come to? Is it the money and tax breaks that Governments can give to entice foreign investment to a country at the expense of workers? We have seen with TalkTalk-----