Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)

In regard to the Minister's previous answers on the same issue, I ask him to justify what I believe is a completely false connection that he is making between job losses in the construction and retail sectors and those sectors which coincide with the JLCs and REAs. He seems to suggest that there is some connection between the two and that it justifies a review of the JLCs and REAs which will produce more jobs.

I put it to the Minister that there is no connection between job losses and the operation of joint labour committees and employment regulation orders in construction, retail and other sectors. Jobs have been lost as a result of the greed of bankers and developers and the failure of Governments to control it. These factors crashed the relevant economic sectors and crashed demand in the economy. That is the reason companies are going out of business. It is false to suggest the problem is one of competitiveness or that wages must be levelled downwards by attacking pay and conditions via the JLCs and EROs. The Minister is wrong to suggest that eliminating premium payments will create more jobs. I ask him to respond to the argument that if one makes a bad situation worse if one takes money out of the pockets of low paid workers because it reduces demand and spending in precisely the businesses and shops he has in mind.

See this speech in context