Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The problem is these piece of legislation are all is skewed. They all seek to take into consideration certain elements of the balance between the employee and employer and ignore and leave out the major issues of levels of pay and levels of underemployment in the economy. They take into consideration competitiveness but they do not look at the other side of the equation, which is the wages of the individual. Given the fact this is such a major problem in society, it is very important the Government takes this on board. To be honest, if we do not include this level of balance and equilibrium between both sides of the equation, we are guaranteeing that in the future, we will not have that harmonious relationship between workers and employers. Will the Minister of State ensure, even at this stage, that legislation in future takes into consideration low pay and underemployment and that we proof this legislation to ensure the infrastructure and adjudications that happen in future are on the basis of competitiveness, with low pay being a key element of the decision?

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