Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 283: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will make a statement outlining his position on the country of origin principle included in the proposed directive for an internal market in services. [37579/05]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Under the country of origin principle, which is a central feature of the draft services directive, if a service provider is not established — does not have an office — in a member state to which it provides a service, the rules governing the provision of the service are those of the member state in which it is established. The principle would give legislative effect to a treaty right on the free movement of services within the internal market. Ireland broadly supports the country of origin principle, subject to further detailed technical work on its application. In that respect, while considerable progress has been made at a technical level on the original Commission proposal, more work needs to be done on all its aspects before it is ready for adoption. There are concerns about the perceived link between the country of origin principle and the so-called "race to the bottom" in terms of standards. The directive will not lead to exploitation or social dumping — it would not be supported by Ireland if it did.

Concerns have been expressed about the possible implications of the draft directive on the posting of workers. The draft directive provides for a derogation from the country of origin principle for the terms and conditions of employment of posted workers covered by the draft directive. Employees posted to Ireland will be subject to Ireland's minimum wage and health and safety requirements, as well as the other legally binding employment conditions. Recent changes to the text of the draft directive are intended to extend the derogation to all workers. The draft directive provides for other derogations from the country of origin principle, including certain public utilities such as postal services, electricity, gas and water distribution and supply. Further derogations may be added to the list. Ireland favours the adoption of a services directive that combines appropriate opportunities for service providers, many of which are SMEs, to avail of the opportunities of the internal market, while ensuring that employees and consumers are protected.