The rewards for Ireland and Europe of the successful negotiation of the EU Services Directive are "huge", Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Micheál Martin has said.
While consumers for years have been benefiting from a greater choice of manufactured goods, Mr Martin said, the same could not be said for many services.
"Many small and medium-sized Irish enterprises have the talent, energy and know-how to compete with the best in Europe. However, they are being constrained by onerous red tape or downright discriminatory regulations in other European countries, and would benefit significantly from the Services Directive, allowing access to a potential 450 million consumer market," he added.
The Minister said independent analysis conducted by various economic bodies suggested a gain of some €40 billion and half a million additional jobs could be attained by opening up the European services market.
Mr Martin, speaking during a private members motion, said the complexity of the directive had led to confused debate over its implications. "There are indeed some legitimate concerns to be raised about it. But using language like the 'Frankenstein' directive to describe it, or trying to play on people's fears and emotions by either attributing doomsday implications to it, or indeed ascribing to it provisions which are manifestly inaccurate, does not promote real debate."
He challenged opponents to demonstrate that if implemented the directive would lead to a repeat of the recent Irish Ferries "out-sourcing" controversy, which happened without any service directive being in force.