Mr. Robin Hanan:

The Chairman has raised a number of important questions. In discussions, the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection raised questions about this. Our main concern is that people who might be able to access part-time work, move on to full-time work and, eventually, off the welfare system, are hitting a welfare trap not just because the existing system is too restrictive in terms of the number of days worked, but because it has been made more restrictive, particularly in the budget before last. The Minister raised a concern that there is a danger that employers would take advantage of the situation by employing people for an hour per day or very short lengths of time, leaving the Government to make up the difference. This is largely the situation, and people are often forced outside the regular economy, to take up work under the counter, so to speak, or forced out of work completely.

To make this work, we would need stronger regulation of the zero-hours contracts and short-term work, which a number of Ministers have raised over recent years. We would need to ensure the existing income limits are paralleled with a change in the number of hours. We have this in a separate presentation which we can send to the committee. The reality of modern working, particularly in the service economy, is that more people are working a few hours scattered over a full week.