Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to speak broadly in support of this amendment. This is a very important part of the Bill in which the powers are not sufficiently strong. I take on board the comments from Deputy McAuliffe but I do not read in this anything that would prevent further or additional powers. In many ways, if the Government is not going to support a proposer's amendment on the basis that the proposal is not strong enough, then it would be great to hear from the Minister of State on what stronger measures he is going to bring to this Bill. There really is a deficit in it.

This goes to the nub of it. If we are going to have confidence in directly elected mayors, and I completely appreciate that a whole range of areas will not transition immediately to a directly elected mayor and that there will be a process, we run the risk that the office will be so weak that it will not have the confidence of people in other parts of the country who will say they do not need to get a directly elected mayor for their area if they see it as too minimal. I appreciate that it is not as easy as simply listing off a whole range of areas and transferring them straight away. That is why something like this, which does not do this and is only a step in that direction, is welcome. Certainly, if a vote is called, I will support it. I do not see anything in it in terms of living wage that would prevent a mayor doing more than that. That is a symbol of the kind of ambassadorial role the mayor could have. That living wage is very important to people's bread and butter. That is absolutely crucial to people facing cost-of-living challenges.

Prior to this meeting, I attended a briefing by the Irish Council for International Students, ICOS, whose representatives spoke about the difficulties many of the people they represent have in terms of renting somewhere affordable to live. Many of the international students here work in areas in which they do not get a living wage and where they are highly exploited. If we want to have successful, vibrant cities, and if we want Limerick to be a success, having a living wage is a really important part of that. I certainly support this amendment.