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

According to Oxfam, the richest 62 people in the world own as much wealth as half of the world's population. In Ireland the gap between rich and poor is increasing with approximately one third of the income located in the top 10% of earners. One in five people are low paid in the State and according to Professor James Wickham of the Think-tank for Action on Social Change, TASC, Ireland was the most unequal society in 2015 among the EU 28 member states in terms of gross income. The share of gross income for the top 1% rose from 9.1% in 2013 to 12% in 2015. The middle 60% of the population has dropped from approximately 52% to 45%. There is shrinkage in the middle and an increase at the top.

The over-concentration of wealth in the hands of a few is, I believe, the biggest problem globally at present. Not only does it rob billions of people of the necessities of life such as decent food, water, education, health care and achieving of potential, it is also one of the most destabilising aspects of modern society. Political upheaval follows economic injustice as sure as night follows day. I have no doubt that the over-concentration of wealth in the hands of the few to the cost of the many is a significant contributory factor to the turbulence we see regarding US politics, Brexit and politics elsewhere. It is not business as usual with regard to wealth and poverty in Ireland. This over-concentration of wealth in the hands of the few is accelerating in the time of this Government and has been facilitated by the Government in the past.

There are a number of drivers behind this yawning gap and they are built on unfair global trade deals, tax injustice and cuts in public services such as health care, housing and education. Key to this is workers' pay and conditions. In the last Government, under Fine Gael and Labour, and with this Government, under Fine Gael and the Independents, we have seen these drivers accelerate. Fine Gael and Labour binned the Sunday premium, which effectively amounted to a pay cut for 200,000 low-paid workers. We also saw the proliferation of internships and low-hour contracts. Insecure and precarious work has become the norm among thousands of families in the State and the human effect is drastic, putting fierce pressure on families unable to pay for very simple things in their lives.

We have also seen the proliferation of bogus self-employment. It is estimated there are at least 20,000 subcontractors in the construction industry who are in bogus self-employment. The number may well be higher. Considering what the Revenue Commissioners indicate should be coming in through taxes and the number of PAYE-registered people in the State, there are serious gaps. Workers should be employed directly as they would receive legal entitlements for the fruits of their labour. With bogus self-employment, workers are forced into subcontracting to allow some contractors shirk their responsibilities, including paying minimum wage, employer pay-related social insurance and illness benefit. There is also an effect on jobseeker's benefit. It is reckoned there were approximately €640 million in unpaid PRSI contributions since 2007 because of bogus self-employment. We brought this up before with the Minister for Finance but he was not interested in looking at it.

There are clearly problems with pay, conditions and zero-hour contracts, which have now become endemic. We have seen very profitable companies involved with the widespread use of short-hour contracts, with employees consequently not knowing what will be their shifts from week to week or what income they will earn. A large proportion of people on low pay are forced to sign on and in-work social protection, such as the family income supplement, is vital for keeping food on the table, but this is, in effect, a Government subsidy to businesses, regardless of their profitability.

Is it right that we have an issue with poverty and low income in this State? There are many people in my county of Meath who currently work 40 hours per week on the minimum wage and who cannot afford the cost of rent, never mind food, heat, health care or anything else. Tactical insolvency is another method by which wealth is transferred from low and middle income earners to the 1%. There are some unscrupulous businesses who separate their assets from their responsibilities. Clerys is the most famous case and the practice literally robs workers. As Deputy Cullinane stated, the Clerys case is not on its own. In County Meath, for example, a company tendered for a State contract. It had decent assets and earnings and it had been trading for a long time. When it delivered the service, it employed new employees under a similarly named company that did not have the same assets, retained earnings or management responsibilities. The company made numerous trips to the Labour Court seeking the reduction of the wages of those workers, and it was successful in doing so. At those points, it could prove to the Labour Court that the company was operating on a shoestring. It separated assets from responsibilities.

Workers are by far the worst hit victims of this practice but the State does not get off lightly either. Where is the €2.5 million of State money used to pick up the Clerys redundancy bill? How many millions of euro are paid on an annual basis from taxpayers to unscrupulous companies that do not pay their own way? Another point to consider is that if we leave this unchecked, companies using tactical insolvencies will have a financial advantage over firms that obey the law. By God it hurts workers more than most but this also hurts the State and puts decent businesses at a disadvantage.

I remember when the Clerys case was unfolding, the Labour Party Minister for tea and sympathy said it would be all okay. In spite of all the talk and platitudes of that Government, we are still in a position where the problem could be repeated today. In the last Dáil I brought forward legislation that would have pierced that corporate veil and prevented those actions but it was refused by the Labour and Fine Gael Government. Like so many pieces of workers' rights legislation, Fine Gael refused it and Labour Members kept their mouths shut and their heads down.

Today we are discussing legislation from my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, that would close the legal loopholes allowing tactical insolvencies. This Bill would give legislative support to the key recommendations of the Duffy-Cahill report commissioned in the wake of the Clerys closure. It would give power to the High Court to return assets that have been improperly transferred and give preferential credit status to employees. In fairness to Deputy Cullinane and his office colleagues, they have taken a partnership approach to the Bill, sending copies to the different parties and unions. It is a reasonable solution to an unreasonable practice. I call on the Government to be real about this. I note the Minister's words but we have seen platitudes before. Do not do as the Labour Party did in the last Dáil, standing on the streets with the victims of tactical insolvencies to be photographed only to block the necessary legislation in the Dáil.

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