Fine Gael and Labour MEPs have clashed over the proposed new EU services directive, which critics claim will lead to a "race to the bottom" in employment standards in Europe.
Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa told a conference in Dublin yesterday that the directive was "unacceptable" in its current form, and he said no Irish MEP could seriously claim to represent all the Irish people by supporting it.
However, Fine Gael MEP Simon Coveney said in principle the directive was a "very good thing".
Rejecting suggestions that it would lead to widespread worker exploitation in Ireland, he said the current proposals contained certain safeguards, including a guarantee that companies operating in the State would be subject to Irish employment law.
Both parliamentarians were speaking at a seminar on the directive organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
The proposed EU law, which is supported by the Government and sponsored by internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy, is to be subject to 1,500 amendments when it comes before the European Parliament on February 14th.
Fianna Fáil MEP Eoin Ryan, also speaking at the conference, said there was "no way" the original commission wording would be accepted. However, he said he supported a compromise text as the directive had "huge potential to create jobs for people in this country for many decades".
Mr De Rossa said there was broad consensus that a services directive was a good idea "but not Mr McCreevy's directive". He said both it and the posted workers directive, which governed the posting of workers from one EU state to another, contained loopholes allowing for exploitation.
However, Mr Coveney said, in general the posted workers directive "does provide a lot of guarantees in a whole range of areas, and I don't think it can just be dismissed". He described as a "disgrace" exploitation like that in the Gama construction case, but now that it was exposed, he said, it would be less likely to happen in future.
Stressing the likely economic benefits from a services directive, he said the services sector provided more than 60 per cent of wealth, and employed more than 70 per cent of workers, in the EU. He emphasised, however, that "social dumping" should not be allowed in Ireland.
Moreover, he said, he would not stand over a services directive with a slim majority at the European Parliament. Any directive without broad agreement "is doomed anyway", he said.
Independent TD and MEP Marian Harkin expressed support for Mr De Rossa's stance, saying the posted workers directive was "full of holes".
