asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism further to his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 336 of 29 January 1985, if he will indicate the steps and action he has taken in his discussions on the freedom of services directive to safeguard and prevent the loss of (a) insurance jobs in the Irish market and (b) investment by non-established insurers.
Written Answers. - Freedom of Service Directive.
101.
I have been reviewing in some detail the implications of the directive referred to. I have asked for and received from the Irish insurance industry an assessment of these implications and I plan to carry these discussions further. The Deputy must realise that this directive is merely giving practical effect to a freedom which exists in the Treaty of Rome to provide services from one member state into another. However the Deputy can be assured that the position taken in the discussions on this directive takes full account of our national interest. In particular Ireland's request for a temporary period of derogation has been maintained at all levels of the EC discussions.