Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The number of people in employment has indeed gone up. While the numbers in employment have gone up, the numbers in receipt of the family income supplement have gone up at a far greater rate. There is a sharp scissors effect there. I believe it is undeniable that it reflects a growth in low-paid employment. I suspect that the Minister has had his own eye on a particular job for a long time now. Presumably, he has been getting up early in the morning in order to get it. Here, we are talking about 57,000 workers who have been getting up early in the morning too. For them, it is for low-paid work. It is so low paid that it has to be topped up by the State in order to take families out of poverty. What practical steps aimed at reversing this trend towards low-paid employment is the Minister prepared to advocate? Will he, for example, join with me in encouraging low-paid workers to take a practical step in challenging low pay? Will he join with me in encouraging low-paid workers to join a trade union?

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