Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

The most vulnerable members of society are those without jobs and those on the minimum wage. It is not true to say that these workers are the most vulnerable, although I accept they are among the lower paid.

Sunday working is another area which has attracted comment. I appreciate that in the past Sunday was a special day. However, nowadays many people work on Sundays and some businesses must work and open on a Sunday. That is the nature of the catering business in particular where jobs are being lost hand over fist. Jobs are being lost in areas where there is no hope of replacement jobs in villages and towns throughout the country. This is destroying our tourism industry. When one closes on a Sunday it jeopardises the rest of the business because the catering industry outside Dublin is only a weekend business and only operates on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. If incontrovertible proof were required of the need for change it is that restaurants are closing almost every day in the country and thousands of jobs continue to be lost.

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