Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

The Department of Finance has made a submission so the Government has a position on it. The Labour Party does not think there is any justification for decreasing the minimum wage or cutting in any way the basic levels of social welfare, so we may as well start from that premise. The arguments for increasing it can be discussed with regard to current economic circumstances.

Many of those people in receipt of minimum wage or at the basic level of social welfare have the highest propensity to spend in the economy. The propensity of these people to save is minimal because they do not have such resources, so if we cut their available resources further, it will have a further deflationary effect on the economy. It is important to note this, and I do so as somebody who must pay the minimum wage.

Has there been any indication of how far the Labour Court has progressed in its assessment of the position? Is it correct that once it has made recommendations to the Minister of State with responsibility for labour affairs, he will have three months to consider them? Is it the position that the minimum level of wage, on which ICTU and IBEC have adopted different stances, has not been reported on by the Labour Court, despite it being there for a considerable period? Is that an indication of difficulties? That is neither here nor there. Does the Government intend to resolve the issue within the context of the new round of social partnership talks rather than wait for the Labour Court to deal with it?

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