Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Can I raise an element of due diligence? Is there a danger that this could create a poverty trap and could be abused by employers? What the Deputy is proposing to do might be more correctly dealt with through family income supplement, FIS, and through amending the FIS rules? There is a danger here that if someone has a low-paid job and has children, the employer will use this proposal as a subsidy and continue to pay that person a low wage. It would be better to allow a system where social welfare deals with people who need assistance, where they are fully unemployed or where they are on FIS. Perhaps FIS needs to be amended rather than looking at this solution. The Deputy is differentiating between categories. He is saying that someone who is unemployed can do this through the social welfare system and someone who is working can do it through the tax system. I am asking about the unintended consequences. I am wondering if what the Deputy is looking to do here could be more correctly and efficiently done through reform of the FIS system.