Mr. Ultan Courtney:

The question of how far the commission can take its recommendations, as distinct from the role of Government policy, is always a difficult one. The role of the Government is to try to take all of the issues that are presented - our submission is just one of the submissions it receives - and then to balance them with the financial and budgetary constraints of the country. From our perspective, it is clear that we want the Government to consider our recommendation. It has done so and people will argue about whether it is sufficient or insufficient in those terms. We will monitor to see exactly what impact it does or does not have on the minimum wage because we do not want a situation where vulnerable businesses are made more vulnerable and forced to reduce hours or to close. We do not want workers, who should be getting a legitimate increase in their terms and conditions of employment, to find themselves in a situation where they are put at risk. That is the balancing act. We do not always have the answer but we try to come up with the best estimate we can based on the information we are given, and it does vary and change. One can talk to one person who might have a completely different story and sometimes a very sad story about his or her business, whereas another person may be quite comfortable with the increase and can take it. There are other people who are not bothered by the increase because they are paying way beyond the minimum wage and do not pay minimum wages at all.

It is the old story that if we try to put a one-size-fits-all rate across an entire economy, there will be difficulties. Public policy and the social good seem to suggest that this is the thing we should be doing and we are trying to implement it. Time will tell whether we are implementing it successfully. At the moment we are reasonably comfortable that we are going in the right direction. We are reasonably comfortable that the Government is making the right decisions about this matter. We progress but we keep a very close eye on the data and the research to see if this is working and how well it is working and then we inform people as best we can.