John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment. The problem is that we know that some people, even today, are not even getting the minimum wage. The Rhatigan workers, for example, were paid €5 per hour. I agree that this must be broadened to include introducing comprehensive legislation regarding the minimum wage, in the first place, and we must go further than low pay and towards a liveable wage.

The Bill is too broad. I will not use the word "slipshod", but it allows a certain number of employers to opt out, as it were. What worries me is that we could have easily inserted the words "minimum wage" and "liveable wage". We are talking about low pay, but there is no definition of what amount people should be earning or what employers should pay.

3 o’clock

This omission could be a failing in the Bill. While I accept the good intentions behind the legislation and I do not wish to be excessively critical of it, as Deputy Tóibín pointed out, with a little foresight, its scope could have been extended to cover many workers who will not be covered if it is passed in its current form.

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