Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Ministers who are present, Deputies Pat Breen and Mary Mitchell O'Connor, on their appointments. It is a great honour for them and I do not doubt their commitment in any way.

I am glad to have the opportunity to make a few points on this motion. I thank the Labour Party for using its Private Members' time to bring this issue forward. We would all aspire to a living wage of €11.50. Indeed, we would all aspire to a living wage approaching €14, as suggested in amendments. In ideal circumstances, we would all like to see that. The commitment to move towards €11.50 is one I would certainly support. A year or two ago, SIPTU or congress first started the campaign to get many of us in these Houses to sign up to the commitment. It is honourable given the costs and challenges facing many households throughout the country. We need to do this. We need to be careful to have the correct balance so we do not affect competitiveness adversely.

The Minister of State said the fragile recovery extends across very many sectors and regions but that is not true of the north west, from where I come. This region includes Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and Cavan. In that part of the country, there are in the region of 200 empty retail shops, pubs, supermarkets, forecourts, factories and other business premises. The IDA budget predominantly focuses on the east coast or a ring very close to the broader east coast region. There is a huge challenge in this area. For the many unemployed people in Sligo, Cavan, Leitrim, Donegal and other counties next to the western seaboard, having a job for 39 hours per week that pays €350, €360 or €370 is a lot better than having a job paying €188 per week or, if one is below a certain age, even less. That is not to say we should not aspire to the figures I have mentioned.

Having been a spectator of the process and practice of politics over the years and having been something of a participant as a Member of the Seanad over 14 years, I believe the evidence is clear that the money follows the population, which is a reasonable formula. It also follows senior Ministers. In the north west, we have neither a senior Minister nor a population. Nevertheless, there are citizens there who deserve equal treatment and somewhat equal access to services. They certainly need some hope in the context of the strategic vision of the Government or Oireachtas to enable their region not only to look after itself but also to contribute to the national effort in a more meaningful way. That would certainly be possible if we were prepared to begin to resource the region's strengths and to put a strategy in place that would facilitate entrepreneurs in order to seek to fill the 200 various empty business premises throughout the region. We could rebalance the IDA budget.

I have concerns over aspects of what former Secretary General of the Department of Finance, Mr. John Moran, said in a recent interview. He referred to our not being able to afford rural or regional Ireland and that we need to centralise and resource the centres in a way that could cater for others. Aspects of what he said are true but the general theme of what he said is false and certainly not in keeping with the aspiration of providing for the nation as a whole. If the greater Manchester area debate takes over the strategic vision of whatever Government we have, we will lose as a nation. If we are to take a purely economic view of the provision of services to less populated parts of the country, of course people will move. If one decides to turn off water at Mullingar, the people of Sligo and Donegal will have to go there for water. If we decide to stop providing broadband for those areas, nothing is surer than that businesses will not locate there. If we refuse to provide a motorway to the north west, as we have done for many years and with no existing plans to build one, it impedes access and the somewhat futile efforts of the IDA staff in the region, who, as we know, are the best in the world at what they do. However, we are falling down as an Oireachtas in examining these regions strategically to ask how we can empower them to perform to their potential and not just regard them as a pain in the national side.

Yesterday the IMD, the international centre for competitiveness, announced its results for the year. Ireland has recovered greatly, rising from 16th place last year, or certainly in recent years, to seventh. While I agree with the intentions of this motion and aspire to paying people the maximum we can, we cannot be stupid about it either. We must be thoughtful and state in policy that we want those employers who can afford it and who have turnovers and profit that support this objective to embrace it and give employees the supports they require. However, we must also acknowledge the fact that many are underperforming, not because of a lack of will to perform but because we are not providing them with the necessary tools to do so. Over the years, all Governments, including those of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Independents, considered the regions to be a pain in the national side and they threw an odd bone of placation to keep them quiet. We need to be much more strategic.

The motion does not go this far but I would abolish zero-hour contracts and if-and-when contracts. They are a tool to be abused more so than to facilitate. I have concerns about what we will do with them.

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