Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The progress we have made in economic recovery has created the conditions to place an equal emphasis on social repair. I am confident that, through the statement of priorities we are publishing today and the Government's determination to see these priorities achieved, we will successfully deliver social and economic recovery.

Social recovery starts with jobs because secure work is the single best protection against poverty. As such, the Government will continue to strengthen the domestic economy and implement policies that fuel growth and prioritise new jobs for the unemployed through the Pathways to Work strategy. Helping small and medium-sized businesses to prosper again will be crucial to increasing employment. The Government will establish the strategic bank to channel billions of euro of much-needed finance to small to medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, in the next four years. In turn, this will create thousands of new jobs, but they must be jobs that pay decent wages in order that people do not need to fall back on welfare.

One of the first actions I took on becoming Minister for Social Protection was to restore the minimum wage to €8.65 per hour. Today, I am pleased to announce that the Government will establish a low pay commission on a statutory basis as an independent body to make annual recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of the minimum wage and related matters. By taking politics out of the issue of low pay, we will ensure there will be no more attacks on low paid workers to suit short-term whims. We will also prioritise the enactment of the collective bargaining legislation as approved by the Government to protect and enhance workers rights' further. I am delighted that a Cabinet super junior Minister with responsibility for SMEs, collective bargaining and the low pay commission is being appointed to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to ensure delivery of these priorities.

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