Mr. Seán Murphy:

In the retail space, wages are a very significant element, partly because huge numbers of our members are tied into upwards-only rent reviews and, therefore, have no flexibility there. They are tied into rates that have doubled during the 2000s and, while we recognise that efforts have been made to reduce them, they have not fallen in line with the levels of economic activity with which we deal. The only other place people can seek flexibility is wages.

That is a fact. This Government committed to doing something about upward only rent reviews and did not do it. In 2015, and allegedly on the cusp of a return to growth, we still see retail chains and retailers shutting down or going into administration or exiting. Wages are a very big driver. The key issue from a retail perspective is it operates in a very, very tight margin - typically 2% to 5% - therefore even a 1% increase in wages directly affects the margin of a business. If we go back to the enabling legislation and talking about competitiveness, what is it and how are we measuring it and what are the agreements on how competitiveness will be measured - these are crucially important. Part of the reason why these wages have softened is that this is a global competitiveness issue. Thomas Friedman asks how does one compare a European who wants to work a 35 hour week with an Indian who wants to work a 35 hour day? He is being flippant when he says that, but this is what we are dealing with in terms of the issues we face and the challenges we have.