Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will begin with a quotation from Franklin D. Roosevelt: "[N]o business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country." These words were spoken many years ago about the United States but are, nevertheless, relevant to all countries and to this debate.

We cannot just talk about a minimum wage; we must also talk about a living wage. What we are seeing are the ill effects of where the emphasis in Ireland was not on the latter. What we have seen and are seeing is growing inequality in Ireland. What contributed to that was the way in which the recession and austerity hit society disproportionately. One statistic shows that 250 people hold a combined personal wealth of over €75 billion here. While the Nevin Economic Research Institute gave a relatively positive picture of recovery, it had serious concerns about the low paid; some 25% of employees, or 345,000 people in the labour force, who earn an hourly wage of less than the living wage threshold of €11.45. Of the low paid, 60% are women. Everyone wants to see an increase in the number of those employed, but if people are going into employment that does not allow them to live in dignity, it distorts the unemployment and employment figures. People must have a decent living wage; otherwise, we will continue to have the working poor.

In the USA, there is a campaign, Fight for $15, which sets out to ensure that all those working in low-paid professions have the means to live adequately and support themselves and their families. I acknowledge that there is a difficulty with the concept of enough to live and having a uniform level in that regard as it can vary depending on where one lives. However, there is not that much divergence in this country albeit I accept that there is a divergence between Dublin and the rest of the country. The report on OECD member countries includes concerns about the gaps between Ireland's minimum wage and the median wage, the figure where 50% of workers earn more and 50% earn less. That has widened significantly since 2007 to a greater extent in Ireland than in any of the other countries on that OECD list. I am looking at the functions provisions of the Bill and the section setting out to what matters the commission must have regard in making recommendations. There is no specific mention of poverty and considering the effect of levels of poverty, particularly on children.

There is a tug of war between trade unions and workers on the one hand and small and medium businesses on the other. I have examples from Dublin Central of small businesses that have been crippled by commercial rates, forcing some to let a member or two of staff go. If rates were more equitable and reflected the size of a business, whether it is a start-up or more established and where it comes in terms of the recession, there might be more give among small and medium enterprises on the side of a positive response to increasing the minimum wage. Employers have been asking for leeway on PRSI and an amnesty in the first six months. It is about a balancing act where the profits for business are concerned.

The commission is going to examine unemployment and employment rates, but it must examine how much of the employment is fair, fruitful and progressive. Many workers are on contracts that would have been unimaginable in pre-recession Ireland. We have seen an increase in zero-hours contracts which are really zero-fairness contracts. The commission must distinguish between casual and meaningful employment. The minimum wage has implications for how a parent earning it can provide for his or her children. We have seen the numbers of children in consistent poverty increase. An April report from Focus Ireland states that 138,000 children in this country live in poverty. The effect of the wage on children should be a matter considered by the commission.

What can one say to someone who works 40 hours a week, just about pays the bills and has no disposable income to spend on other items or events which would have knock-on effects in society? An obvious feature that emerged during the recession was where long-serving older employees were edged out of jobs - by foul means in many cases - in which they had given faithful service. New staff were then brought in to work on lower wages and contracts with no mention of permanency. I have sympathy for small and medium enterprises and their struggles to keep businesses going and to hold onto their employees, but larger employers, including the banks, large enterprises and multinationals, have been manipulating the labour market and taking advantage of the recession to introduce poorer working conditions. In April, Social Justice Ireland published a paper on the nature of employment which showed that there were 15% fewer full-time jobs in Ireland in 2014 than in 2008 when the downturn began. The paper stated that there had been a 14% rise in part-time jobs in 2014. We have also seen an increase in the number of families applying for family income supplement. These workers need State support to supplement low wages in order to live. The report says that recovery is at the price of the exploitation of workers. Clerys is just one example of shoddy, unfair and immoral treatment. One does not sell a company overnight. They knew this was going to happen and to give some 400 workers 30 minutes notice is absolutely disgraceful. Businesses are there to make a profit, but that does not mean they have to trample all over workers' rights to increase and maximise that profit. The Government bailed out the banks and it is time there was some redress for workers. Business and morality can go together, but we are not seeing too many examples of that.

While I welcome the annual recommendations, more than recommendations is needed. There must be a timeframe and a mechanism for responding to those recommendations. Is rud dearfach é go bhfuil an díospóireacht seo ar siúl againn agus go bhfuil an obair seo déanta ag an Aire Stáit. Tá súil agam go ndéanfaidh sé difríocht.

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