Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I understand that. I do not want to put words in the mouths of the sponsors of the Bill but I think what they want to do is take away from an employer the option of having the facility there to access cheaper and cheaper labour.

The Department's submission refers to those who advocate for the retention of these rates doing so because they believe they are necessary to reflect different levels of work, performance and experience. Has anyone advanced anything on this? I have spoken to employers about this and they will tell me this but that it is instinct and something they feel might be happening at the level of their workplace. I have not seen any evidence to support the claim that somebody who is 17 years and 360 days old is doing a job that is substantially different from that of a person who is 18 years and one day old. I am using extreme examples. Experience is important but somebody could be out of the workforce for ten or 20 years for a range of reasons and have no experience but a 16-year-old or an 18-year-old with a year's experience under their belt is on a lower rate than a person coming back after 20 years with no experience in the role. If there is any evidence - having spoken to employers, I can tell the Department that they have not advanced any evidence but have told me what they think - has the Department considered it? Is it undertaking its own research in this regard?