Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and his team. I have not had a chance to attach my questions directly to the heads. The Minister has already appointed a board and I suspect that none of the members of the interim board has ever been on the minimum wage or ever experienced living on the minimum wage. Equally, there is nobody on the board who has ever been a direct employer or run a small business and known the pressures that come with having to manage it. Were there people who applied through the open process who would have fulfilled those criteria? Was consideration given to including people who are directly affected in this regard?

Second, I notice that the Minister is following the UK model in that the decision will ultimately rest with the Minister of the day. Is there not an argument to be made for going the full hog and giving it full statutory body power to make the decision? Given that we are putting so much time into it in terms of it being evidence based and having public consultation, is it not the time to take this out of politics completely and give the commission the power to make the decision, as opposed to making a recommendation?

Is consideration being given to the commission having a wider role than just in respect of the minimum wage, for example, regarding the wage in sectoral agreements, wages for apprentices and wage setting generally for students and part-time workers, in view of the issues arising in that area?

Finally, I noted the Minister's opening party political broadcast. What about giving the commission a role in interpreting employment figures and where and how employment figures are counted?