Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. In the short time available to me I will address comments made about the living wage. In the previous Dáil, I brought forward a Sinn Féin motion to introduce a living wage of €12.30, which was passed. The Minister of State referred earlier to the Government's commitment to delivering a living wage during the course of this Dáil term and he spoke about the minimum wage in terms which sent a chill through my spine. I was deeply concerned by his emphasis on the Low Pay Commission delivering a living wage. I do not believe that will happen over the course of this Government because the Government will hide behind the Low Pay Commission and go with whatever it comes up with. The commission has form in this. In 2016, it proposed an increase in the minimum wage of 50 cent, of 20 cent in 2017, 30 cent in 2018 and 25 cent in 2019. It was not moving forward when the economy was booming.

A living wage is important and we need to make the distinction between it and a minimum wage. A living wage is one where people can actually go to work and live decently. It is based on the price of rent, travel and childcare. We are aware that we cannot move straight to a living wage, but the commitment the Government set out earlier deeply disturbs me because it is going to hide behind the Low Pay Commission. The Government is not interested in a living wage and we will be back here at the end of this term when it has not moved forward in any way to a living wage, having hidden behind the commission.

During the height of the pandemic, when certainty was a rare commodity and worry was prevalent, our health professionals sacrificed and suffered to keep us safe. However, they were not the only ones stepping into the bearna baol. Cleaners, porters and many others stood up with them, far too many of them on a low wage. The pandemic has shown the need for a living wage, and workers' protection has never been more important. We must honour the risks they have taken and ensure all workers are given a decent wage.

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