Dáil debates

Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Community Employment Pension Scheme: Motion [Private Members]

 

10:10 pm

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak and I thank Deputies Willie O'Dea, Mary Butler and Dara Calleary for bringing forward this Private Members' motion. It is unfortunate that it is the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, who has been sent in because he is very good in his own role. It is also unfortunate that the Ministers, Deputy Paschal Donohoe and Deputy Regina Doherty, are not here to greet the people in the Visitors Gallery, who have travelled from all around the country. While I do not know who the people sitting in the Visitors Gallery vote for, I am sure as hell that some of them are Government supporters and they feel very let down tonight. It is disgraceful and embarrassing. One thing the Government should do is withdraw its amendment.

I want to thank Michelle from Galway, who organised a bus and a car load, and who brought up 52 people today to show support for this motion. When I talk about Michelle, I have to talk about the money she is on. Michelle earns €10.94 an hour after tax and she takes home €426 a week. One would think we are talking about people on seriously large wages but we are not. If anyone thought Michelle's wages were bad, an assistant supervisor who was taken on a few weeks ago started on payscale 1 and he has to use family income support of €93 per week to make up his income. These are the people I am talking about, the people representing us with the Cope Foundation, Youth Work Ireland, Brothers of Charity, Ability West and in day care centres. When there is a photograph to be taken after they have done the jobs on the GAA pitches and the playgrounds, and painted the day care centres, by God, some of the Minister of State's colleagues are front and centre to be there for the photograph.

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