Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this important motion on the minimum wage. It was a disgrace to cut the minimum wage by €1 and to take €8 from the blind and disabled in the budget. The cuts to social welfare were an attack on the weaker sections of society. This should never be part of any plan to sort out the public finances. The poor and the weak should never have to pay for the actions of the reckless, who have destroyed the economic heart of this country. That is why I am supporting the motion. Imagine the brass neck required to cut the income of someone who is on €18,000 per year. There are 116,000 such workers, and 6.6% of the workforce are living below the poverty line. A total of 4% of workers and 1.2% of industrial workers in the export sector are on the minimum wage with no major impact on competitiveness. It is time the Government came to live in the real world. It should lay off these people. Even setting aside the grave injustice of this cut, it makes no sense at all and will have no impact on the public debt or on our economic recovery. It is "Father Ted" economics, which will drive more people onto welfare. That is the scandal of this debate. These measures will have a profound impact on those who are poorest, which is totally unacceptable. In a recession, or in any dogfight to save our country, the strongest should always pay. Hammering the low-paid should never be the easy option.

Tonight's motion makes reference to core values and decency. It is not fair or decent to slash the minimum wage of low-paid workers, public or private, full stop. Let us not drive a wedge between private sector and public sector workers, as some politicians and media commentators are trying to do. We must all be aware of the new right-wing agendas that are surfacing in this crisis. Let us remind those involved that it was their extreme ideology that caused this economic mess in the first place.

I urge all Members of this House to support the motion and to stand up and be counted on behalf of the 4% of the workforce who are being hammered by the cut in the minimum wage. Enough is enough. Let us support this worthwhile motion.

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