Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair, and I welcome Dr. de Buitléir. His CV speaks for itself in terms of his involvement in a wide range of groups, which makes him very well-qualified for this position. He mentioned his involvement with the Tabor Society. Will he touch on how that role might shape his interests in this area?

Some of the groups we have had in before have spoken about the disparity between the Dublin region and other areas, where the cost of living might be higher than in other parts of the country. In London there is a sort of London living allowance. Does Dr. de Buitléir have any thoughts on that idea?

A member of an employers' group, who was involved in a small company hiring a small number of people, said she felt at the start of the crisis that her staff would have been agreeable to taking a wage cut to protect all the jobs, if that had been allowed. However, that was not feasible and the result was that a number of people were let go to maintain the minimum wage that was required. Does Dr. de Buitléir have any comments on that dilemma? Does he think something should be put into the legislation to allow for that? Obviously, it would have to be independently verified.