Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

As Minister for Justice and Equality, the Tánaiste has been getting a lot of heat recently on the question of justice, but I want to turn the heat up on the question of injustice and inequality. Two reports that were published recently by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Morgan McKinley show that the gender pay gap in this country is widening. Interestingly, the figures show that the pay gap between the earnings of men and women has increased dramatically while Fine Gael has been in government. The gap was 8.3% in 2012, but it increased to a high of 15.2% in 2015. The cost of child care in this country, which is one of the most expensive in Europe, is one of the factors contributing to this. It is supposedly planned to deliver a proper child care plan for female workers, 40% of whom are in low-paid, flexible or part-time contracts precisely because of the cost of child care. The reports I have mentioned show that 3,000 women are being driven out of the workforce each year because of the cost of child care. Another interesting fact set out in these reports is that in the last year or two, profits in the retail and hospitality sector have soared to over 40% above pre-crash levels. The workers in this sector are predominantly women. Equally, it is predominantly women who are on low pay, which is connected to low hours. It cannot be denied that as women work fewer hours on lower levels of pay, they are driven further and further into poverty and therefore the gender gap widens even further. There are scientific studies to show that this is the case.

This drives women further into poverty so the gender gap opens in this way.

I know the Tánaiste is not responsible for all those areas but she is responsible for dealing with the question of equality, and this indicates a large and growing equality gap affecting women in this country. As well as enduring discrimination in pay, hours and contracts through working life, women who are now retiring are finding their contributory pension is being cut drastically because of banding and averaging of hours. I know a couple, Paul and Pauline, who are related. Paul has half the contributions of Pauline but she earns 30% less from her contributory pension. Both of them have worked all their lives. The Tánaiste is presiding over inequality as Minister for Justice and Equality. Therein lies the injustice.

What will the Tánaiste do about the growing gender equality and pay gap? What will she do about the visible discrimination against pensioners, which is known to the Department? When they retire, they are discriminated against on two grounds: age and, mostly, gender. Women are primarily the homemakers and have been so through the years.

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