Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Our first action was to take 300,000 people out of the universal social charge net that was visited upon them by the previous Administration. This was in the teeth of the worst economic climate in our history.

I do not regard the minimum wage as a great wage. That is the reason we have now established the low pay commission to ensure that people have a liveable wage. That is the priority of the Labour Party in government as we get people back to work and allow them to escape from dependency. The notion that we thrive on failure is being peddled by some of the parties opposite; they are fearful of success as we emerge from a broken economy but job creation is taking place-----

See this speech in context