Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

On wages and incomes, the witness alluded to the danger of potentially reinforcing the inflationary spiral. I hope he would agree that it is clear that wage demands or increased social welfare or pension payments have not created this crisis. They are lagging well behind the rises in the cost of living. At present, workers, pensioners, students and everybody except the corporations, which are doing very well, have seen income cuts in real terms. If income and pay increases do not at least keep pace with the cost of inflation, is there not a danger that this would be more damaging to the economy? I am not suggesting that there should be pay or income increases way beyond the rate of inflation, but is it not the right thing to do and in the interest both of alleviating hardship and also not damaging the economy, particularly the domestic economy, to ensure that incomes and wages keep pace with inflation? If they do not, as is currently the case, there will be less purchasing power and that will hit the domestic economy and potentially tip us into recession.