Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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The reality of the supply and demand of labour and the pricing of it means that the lower the price for labour, the more people will be employed. Therefore, if we reduced the minimum wage by half, we would have a higher demand for labour. However, if a person is working full time and cannot afford to pay his rent and feed his children, the State must fill that gap. In other words, we need to find a morally responsible wage level that means the State does not need to keep filling the pot for people who need support to look after their families and their rent. This wage needs to be found and employers need to pay that rate. This makes the argument that there is a necessity for an increase in the minimum wage in order to achieve that.