Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I spoke to an engineering company in Donegal which wanted to employ individuals at a certain wage, maybe approximately €14 per hour. When it went to employ individuals for this role, many of the individuals who had families, perhaps four children in school who were receiving back-to-school allowances and other supports, found their income was not materially improved by taking on the role. There is a welfare cliff whereby people who step off benefits into work reduce their standard of living. There is a necessity to ensure those welfare benefits are still in place while those individuals return to work. That has a negative effect on the individual taking on the job but also on the engineering firm in Donegal which wants to employ people and expand but cannot because it has no access to staff.