Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)

I should not have to ask. If the country is taking a bailout of €85 billion, it should be clear to everybody who is getting what out of it.

The cut to the minimum wage is the most disgraceful thing this Government has ever done. The Minister of State sat at our committee meetings - I see the Chairman is present - where we asked those who were promoting this notion to prove it to us. The Minister of State quoted a Forfás report but that does not actually suggest reducing the minimum wage will increase jobs. Instead, it states a 10% increase in the minimum wage could reduce employment by up to 5% - it does not state the opposite and it does not recommend it be reduced. Those who came to the committee tried to claim this had to be done but none of them came back to us with proof they were right. If we thought people were missing out on jobs due to the minimum wage, we would agree to consider this. No one has given us that proof. It is unfair to say it and it is unfair to do it.

If a person is on minimum wage, due to the lack of public transport in this country, in most cases the person will have to have a car to get to work. There are costs to employment in that one has to have suits, a uniform or other clothes to go to work, as well as lunch and so on. It is hardly worth a person's while to go out and work for the new minimum wage. It was very tight on the old rate but this is disgraceful. The Minister said he wanted to challenge the idea that persons already employed on the minimum wage will see their income drop automatically. Of course they will. The Minister claims such people will have a contract. We know what will happen. The contract will be ended and somebody else will get the job at the lower rate, or the gun will be put to their head to take the lower rate. The Minister should not say people will be protected because they will not be. They know the Government does not protect them. It cuts them at every opportunity it gets.

It is wrong that Ministers' pay is as high as it is. Ministers should not clap themselves on the back for taking a small cut. There is no need, when a Deputy becomes a Minister of State or Minister, for an increase of €80,000 or €90,000. Ministers get such an increase of staff, a car and everything else that they do not need double the wages on top of that. A Minister's job is probably easier than a Deputy's and they should not be paid twice the money.

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