Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will be very brief. I want to flag an issue and, if possible, the Minister might give a brief response.

The point has been made to me that decisions taken with regard to other parts of the budget - that is, an increase in the minimum wage, which is welcome - have meant that the comparative advantage of the wage subsidy scheme has been a bit lost. It has not kept pace. I suppose that is the kind of thing that needs to happen in a discussion. I know the wage subsidy scheme was increased approximately 18 months ago but, if the minimum wage steps up the comparative advantage an employer has is lost to some extent, although maybe not dramatically. Was there much discussion back and forth on this between the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment? What are the implications of that, and was it considered to increase the wage subsidy scheme?