Ms Patricia Callan:

One cannot simply say every individual deserves to be paid X rate of pay. We are a small open economy operating in a globalised world where we must price our goods and products at a price to sell internationally. We need that money to come back here to support our domestic demand businesses. It is not as simple as asking what we are going to do to solve the problem of low pay without considering the overall structure. If we do not have any businesses or jobs, everybody is on welfare and the amount of tax paid is much lower because there is nobody to pay taxes and the economy collapses. We should build consensus and work towards societal goals but we must be realistic about the fact that if we do not have our economic fundamentals right, none of those aspirations can be delivered upon.