Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and I endorse everything that was said about the social welfare system. We have a social welfare system designed for the early part of the 20th century. I met the Minister during the summer and I made that point to her. People are afraid to sign off because it takes so long to sign back on. Deputy Lawlor kicked off the ball on this last year and we need to do something about it. A debate has started about the income trap, which Mr. Light described well. The Minister spoke about it at lunchtime on the radio, but she just said the Government would take care of it. We have much work to do to enable the implementation of Mr. Light's suggestions, which he highlighted so well in his response.

I would not like this committee to give the impression that every employer is trying to get the last drop of profit and cut hours. Many small employers have not even paid themselves over the last few years. They have tried to keep the door open and they have not had support from banks or others. In trying to keep their workers paid, they often have not paid themselves. They are not profiteering; they are trying to keep the door open. Unfortunately, many of them are not able to do that and then they find themselves subject to a social welfare system that does not cater for them. I would not like the wrong impression to go out. There are undoubtedly multinational employers that are doing what Mr. Light is describing, but the last three years for most SMEs have been about keeping the door open and trying to keep people in employment, often at a cost to themselves.