Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Is the Taoiseach making a commitment to accommodate a full debate in this House in the autumn, but with no prospect of it being accommodated in the coming week, prior to the summer recess? I would welcome such an opportunity. Is the Taoiseach aware that a recent NESC report found that the richest 20% of the working population in the State earned 12 times as much as the poorest workers? That is among the highest levels of inequality of any OECD country. In that context, how can the Taoiseach say that the new partnership agreement commitment of 10% over two years and three months is generous? That is the phraseology that he and his colleague beside him have used. Do they not realise that 14% of households now classified as being in poverty are headed by someone in employment and that the figure has doubled over the past decade? While one can point to more people in employment, low-pay poverty is a growing problem, replacing unemployment as a key cause of hardship.

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