Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

It is difficult to dispute the fact that the problem of low pay is rife in Ireland. It can be compared in many ways, but let us compare it across the European Union, in which, compared to EU-15 countries, the level of Irish wage compensation in the private sector is 14% below average; compared to other EU countries not in a bailout programme, the level in Ireland is 21% below average, and compared to economies which are small and open such as some of the Nordic countries, in particular, the level in Ireland is 30% below average. Ireland, therefore, has a problem with low pay. One result is that one in four families with at least one person in work suffers from multiple deprivation experiences, while 16% of employees live below the poverty line. We have the creation of a sector of the workforce that is incredibly low paid, work that is subsidised by the State, given that low pay employers are being subsidised by the State through the likes of family income supplement. Surely the Government has to do something about this. I argue that wage rises are a much more effective way of targeting the issue than tax cuts.

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