Ms Patricia King:

No, 75% of all workers in accommodation and food earn less than €400. That 75,000 workers earn the minimum wage or less provides a fairly good picture of the size of low pay. I would regard anybody who is earning €400 or less as being definitively categorised as a low-paid worker. Furthermore, 32% of all workers are in the next tranche, which comprises those who earn between €400 and €800 a week. The figures I have provided for these sectors are a good indicator that low pay and low hours go together. The proposed Bill does not deal precisely with some of the issues mentioned in our submission, such as the problems associated with zero-hour contracts and the need for a minimum number of hours. We are advocating strongly for the five points set out in the submission. For the purposes of this conversation, we are talking about banded hours. The figures I have mentioned clearly indicate how this issue fits into an overview of the economy and of employment in Ireland. There are just under 2 million workers in Ireland, of whom 365,000 are regarded as self-employed. Therefore, there are 1.65 million direct workers in part-time or full-time employment. That gives a good outline of the size of the low-pay issue. Ireland ranks second among OECD countries - behind only the US - in the low-pay category. We have a very bad track record in this area. I ask Ms Buckley to hone in on the accommodation and food sectors.