Mr. Fergal O'Brien:

The point is that it is quite subjective and many analysts recognise that determining the costings of work is complex. Even if we do take into account some of the costs of work, I still agree that for the majority work does pay. The reason we have an unemployment problem is that there is a lack of demand, but at the margins we still have a problem. The welfare system should make sense for everyone to take up employment opportunities. It is a disservice to the 6%, 12% or 20% affected that they are better off on social welfare than at work. That issue needs to be addressed.