I have received representations on behalf of Irish lecturers employed by Italian universities and my Department has been following this matter closely. Of the 1,400 lecturers of non-Italian nationality employed by Italian universities, approximately 40 are Irish citizens. For some considerable time, they have encountered difficulties in relation to their contracts and conditions of employment. The European Commission is vested with responsibility for enforcing provisions of the treaties in cases such as these and, as the Deputy is aware, the Commission has now brought an action against Italy to the European Court of Justice, claiming that the Italian authorities had failed to uphold the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of nationality. While the Italian authorities have yet to respond fully to the allegation, the Commission contends that Italy is in infringement of article 48 of the EC Treaty.
The situation of the 40 or so Irish citizens affected is, of course, also a matter of concern to my Department. Officials from the Irish permanent representation in Brussels have been in contact with the Commission to ascertain the full facts of the case and to discuss the procedures which will follow. The Commission has already issued a letter of notification, dated 9 July 1998, followed up by a reasoned opinion, dated 28 January 1999, and still contends that the matter complained of has not been remedied. It is now pursuing the matter in the European Court of Justice. Although any member state may apply to intervene in these proceedings, such intervention is rare.
At present I am fully satisfied that the commission is fulfilling the role assigned to it by the treaties in bringing this action before the European Court of Justice.
The question of a direct approach to the Italian authorities, in concert with the governments of other EU member states whose nationals are similarly affected, has been considered. However, as the matter is one of exercising a right of equal treatment under the EU treaties, it would seem appropriate not to take up the matter as a bilateral Ireland-Italy issue, but rather to take advantage of the remedies set out in the treaties for persons whose rights are infringed. The right of the foreign lecturers to equal treatment with Italians derives from their status as EU citizens, and the protection of that right should similarly be afforded in an EU framework.
