Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to focus on under-employment and the increasing casualisation of the workforce which is happening in both the private and public sectors. Increasingly, we are seeing this in the teaching profession, for example, at primary, post-primary and university level, and it is having a major impact. There are societal consequences which must be factored in. The more we see of casualisation and the less we see of work providing a living wage, the more society has to pick up the tab on the other side in terms of the impact of poverty on families, particularly children, and also in terms of the subsidy paid to some employers in order that they can have so-called flexibility. Flexibility is often portrayed as something positive but, in actual fact, it is a very negative word from the point of view of employees and employment rights. Casualisation also has implications in terms of having a roof over one's head and the ability to provide for oneself, either by way of renting or purchasing. It simply will not be possible for many working people to do this. We are being told that the increase in casualisation will give us a competitive advantage, but it has very negative implications, not just for the individuals in question but also for society in general. This must be considered in a very serious way because we are storing up serious problems for the future.

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