Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Is Ms McDonagh satisfied that the bank is a living wage employer? As somebody who used to lecture many people who did finance and accountancy degrees, I increasingly encounter people who say they cannot afford to live unless they are living at home, which I think a fair number of people are. They cannot afford to pay rent because of the wages at entry level. I encounter a lot of people like this; some are former students or people I know who are students where I used to work in DIT. Ms McDonagh spoke about career paths but the entry grades do not pay a living wage. Is there a policy to have a living wage for people who work in the bank? As she probably knows, even sharing student accommodation costs €1,000 to €1,200 a month. That kind of rent would absorb a lot of a salary of €25,000 to €30,000.