Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Some 500 affordable housing units have been completed and a further 1,500 completions will be achieved this year. The land is available, initiatives are under way and local authorities are working with the contact group and the implementation group. Des Geraghty's second report and the efforts of the entire system are focused on moving as quickly as possible, having identified the sites, whether they are land swaps or other initiatives. It is up and running and I hope it will be delivered as quickly as possible. I have mentioned the legislation to help the scheme and make the finances available.

On the minimum wage, as part of the process the Labour Court makes the call. We now have by far the highest minimum wage in Europe. We also have the lowest tax on low-paid workers anywhere. The combination of those factors significantly helps low-paid people and we need to stay in favour of those initiatives, which are good.

As regards immigrant workers, yesterday during Leaders' Questions I answered this question. It is an important issue. The social partners have addressed it and obviously will continue to do so if there are abuses. Labour law applies to everybody and everybody must be protected. Obviously, the potential for abuses exists. We have a high minimum wage in contrast to the average wage in other countries, even in EU member states. A recent newspaper report highlighted that our minimum wage is €7.50 or €7.60, whereas one country had an average wage of less than €3. It is possible to see the reasons why people will try to exploit these matters. I said yesterday and repeat today that I accept that our labour inspectorate must be very vigilant on these issues. With the social partners we must ensure abuses do not occur. People should not try to find scams to bring people here and then abuse them.

On the issue of permits, I am not certain where this matter lies at the moment. I understand from a briefing I got prior to Christmas that the issue of moving towards the individual holding the permit is fairly well advanced, which should address the issue. It also has the benefit of allowing people to change workplace and not be trapped, as has been the case for a long time, especially considering the danger associated with their being outside the country. This will be a significant move. While I am not sure whether this change requires legislation, it is certainly being examined.

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