Mr. Jimmy Kelly:

I wish to address one of the points raised by some of the members. All of the scary monsters put forward by employers about what will happen when we move in the direction of decent pay do not stack up. Let us look at what we have created in this proud republic of ours. Not so long ago we had full employment, an end to forced emigration and the start of inward migration for the first time. We moved into that good space and nobody can say that the crash and crisis was linked to workers being paid proper wages. It was based on greed, the property bubble and the behaviour of the banks. None of it was connected to workers being treated decently. We are making an argument which fits in with what Deputy Tóibín described, in terms of consumer demand being needed at local level. I try to relate what we discuss with what happens locally in terms of local economies and local communities. Moving in this direction not only achieves what my colleagues have described in terms of decency at work, but it also generates spending at local level through increased consumer demand. These are the benefits upon which we must focus, rather than suggestions that the world will end if workers start getting paid properly.