John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I find it deeply ironic that the Government has set out to address the plight of low-paid workers in the months preceding the general election, having spent the past four years pushing this group of people into abject poverty. One in six people is in low-paid employment and this figure grew rapidly during the recession. European research shows that since 2007 the gap between the minimum wage and the median wage, that is, the point on the income scale where 50% of workers earn more and the remaining 50% earn less, has widened more in Ireland than in any other country in Europe. While some will argue that I am repeating a slogan of the left, it is a fact that the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer. All the statistics show this to be true.

Declining disposable income results in lower consumption which further destabilises the economy, as economists will agree. Research has consistently shown that workers spend more as a proportion of income than those who earn income from profit. Half of workers in this State have little disposable income because fewer than 50% of employees earn €25,000 or more while 30% of all workers earn less than €20,000. Every day, 135,000 children face material deprivation as their parents struggle with the tax burden imposed on them through the household charges, water charges and so forth.

One of the previous speakers on the Government side stated that Ireland has one of the highest minimum wage rates in Europe. While that may be the case, Ireland is also one of the most expensive countries in Europe. Rents, grocery costs, medicine prices and doctors fees are all higher than the European average. Furthermore, people have the universal social charge, the property tax and water charges heaped upon them. If the Government is serious about increasing living standards, it must address these costs.

There is a bigger picture at play here than the minimum wage. It is crucial that the low pay commission examines the cost of living for low income workers, including the costs of rent, food, energy, transport, clothing and services. I specifically request that the commission fully examine recent proposals on a living wage. This is a sum that his higher than the minimum wage but below the level campaigners consider to be sufficient to make ends meet. One in five workers currently earns less than the minimum wage. I am disappointed by the narrow focus of the proposed low pay commission which will only investigate the minimum wage. It is a stark omission which must be altered before the Bill is passed. I will not vote in favour of the legislation unless a change is made in this area.

Almost 125,000 workers are under-employed meaning they are part-time workers who are not working as many hours as they wish to work. This figure, which is included in the latest quarterly national household survey, is one of the highest rates in the European Union. Trade unions have stated that these contracts make a significant contribution to what is described as "in-work poverty". It is beyond me that these types of contracts have not been included in the proposed study of vulnerable workers. The Low Pay Commission will not do much for the types of workers I have described, many of whom are stuck in short-term contracts, particularly in the retail sector, pubs and restaurants. A growing number of short-term contracts are being used in other sectors, with even the Government getting in on the act. I learned this morning, for example, that 25% of newly qualified teachers are on the Government equivalent of a zero-hour contract. Schools are interviewing for contracts of two and three hours' work per week and successful candidates must make themselves available from Monday to Friday in case additional hours become available. This makes it impossible for parents to organise child care. Employees on this type of contract do not have the security of knowing whether they will earn enough to cover their basic bills. It is outrageous that these highly skilled individuals are being treated in this manner.

It is interesting that a recent survey of zero-hour contracts carried out by a group of SIPTU members found that 89% of those aged under 35 years are struggling to make ends meet, while one in five respondents indicated that his or her employer gives less than one day's notice of working hours. We are letting young people down in not urgently addressing this issue, on which I spoke a couple of weeks ago.

I acknowledge that a team from the University of Limerick has been appointed to examine zero and low-hour contracts and their impact on workers. While we await the findings of that study, I ask the Government to task the Central Statistics Office with recording the incidence of low-hour contracts as part of the quarterly national household survey. All of the conjecture about these contracts is painting an unfair and damaging picture of employers in the sectors in question, many of whom treat their staff well.

The Low Pay Commission will go nowhere if it does not deal with the substantial number of workers who are on zero-hour contracts. The figure appears to be increasing rather than decreasing. If the commission does not examine this issue, the legislation will not improve the lot of workers.

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