Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to reiterate the concept of the living wage, which is of deep interest to me and to Deputy Calleary and other Deputies. It is a concept that requires proper debate in this House and across society. There are considerable merits to having that debate. As the Deputy will be aware, I have already expressed my own views on the notion of a wage-led recovery and have called on employers now making profits to consider sharing that prosperity with working people through higher wages. This is not just a debate that is taking place here. It is going on across Europe, and in some cases from some of the least likely sources we would imagine. The Tánaiste is on record as stating that she believes employers should consider signing up to a voluntary code in respect of a living wage, as they do in parts of the United Kingdom.

Lest those on the Opposition benches think this is purely motivated by some kind of exclusively leftist agenda, we would be surprised by some of the individuals in the UK in particular who are supportive of the living wage concept because it makes sense for employees and for business. People like the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and figures on the right such as Iain Duncan Smith support the concept as well.

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