Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will have to examine the examples the Deputy gave. What I said, however, was that nobody would be worse off than they were before the pandemic as a consequence of the decision being made. I did not say that no one would be worse off than they were before the pandemic. Many people are worse off than they were before the pandemic. Most people who have lost their jobs, for example, are, sadly, worse off than they were before the pandemic. The average weekly wage in Ireland in the first quarter of this year was €800. We were seeing some significant and welcome wage growth in Ireland before the pandemic, up to €800 a week. An average person, therefore, who was earning €800 a week and who has lost his or her job is now on €350 a week.

Many people, therefore, are much worse off than they were before the pandemic hit. That would be true of people on the wage subsidy as well. The solution is not welfare; the solution is jobs and getting people back to work and into work, so they can earn much more than can ever be offered under the welfare system. There are people who were on the PUP who would be better off on regular welfare payments, including for example, the one-parent family payment, jobseeker's payments, particularly if they have dependants, and the option is there for them to apply for those payments.

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