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

I will do so but I would like my question to be answered in terms of the income received rather than the level of hours worked. That is the change we need to make, that we look at the income people receive from their jobs and we do not supplement them based on the days or hours that they work, because increasingly Ireland is becoming a low-paid economy. We earn lower wages than most of the other developed European Union countries. A total of 38% of part-time workers earn low pay. Increasingly in this country we see people fall into a poverty trap. They are not able to receive a living wage. They might be on the minimum wage but they are certainly not able to receive a minimum wage, even combined with payments from the Department. Now we find there are anomalies whereby they are not able to receive these payments. It does not suit the employer to rearrange the employee's hours to suit the Minister or the person in receipt of poverty earnings. This must be looked at and must be changed.

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