Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Let me broaden it out. The point I am making relates to inequality. I have a concern because there seems to be this general theme, particularly with ISME, that the real challenge is to stop workers from getting pay increases. The witnesses have been very clear on the minimum wage and yet we know from the CSO figures that one in three workers in this country in this country is on less than €400 a week. We know that in terms of inequality we have a huge gap between low paid workers and CEOs. We know that the living wage is currently €11.70 and yet the witnesses are objecting to the minimum wage going up to €9.55. That means workers do not have enough to live but the witnesses are saying it is still too much. How do the witnesses justify that?