Ms Rhona Murphy:

In terms of sufficient hours to live, that is not something we are hearing back from our employer members. In fact what they are saying is that they cannot get staff. It is not a case that people are being denied hours of work that they want to work. It is quite the opposite. They cannot bring them in and cannot get enough people to come in and work the hours they have available. In terms of the issue of pay, I am sure pay is a factor in determining whether somebody decides to take up a position. We must bear in mind as well that a lot of the sectors in which employment permits will be needed will not necessarily have particularly high profit margins. Very often there is a public service element and people are relying on these services in their own homes, for example.