Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

For the people who are still sitting in the Dáil, some of whom are Ministers, there can be no reason for specifically insulating themselves other than the fact that they had expectations before the changes were made, but tough luck to Mr. Gaynor and other private sector workers who will just have to suck it up. It is extraordinary. I thank Mr. Gaynor for highlighting this issue. Despite the circumstances, he has been calm in putting it across. He should be outraged. He is seeking equality for private sector workers caught in this unfair and discriminatory position. Essentially, they should also be ring-fenced against these changes, after which we could discuss the issue.

I agree with Mr. Gaynor, who probably knows much more than me, but I always revert to a point. It relates to one of my strongest memories from sixth class or first or second year in school in the early 1980s. The geography books of the time claimed that, due to advances in technology and how it would be labour saving, more wealth would be produced and productivity would increase, but that the amount of labour people would have to do to produce that wealth would be considerably less. According to the books, there would be shorter working lives and a shorter working week, meaning that society's main problem would be what to do with all of that leisure time. This was completely logical, yet we have got ourselves into a situation-----