Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. We appreciate that he is not opposing the Bill but again, our interest is in what that actually means. Many pieces of legislation are brought forward in these Houses that the Government says it will not oppose. It cannot be a passive act, however, and it must work with Opposition to bring this to fruition. I am glad to see that Mr. David Joyce has joined us here today to witness the debate. I want to pay tribute to the party leader, Deputy Bacik, and to my colleague, Deputy Nash, for bringing forward this legislation.

We constantly impress upon the Minister of State, and we will keep repeating, that an epidemic of low pay exists in Ireland. When we use language such as "living wage", the whole point of a living wage is that somebody can live. It is spirit crushing to work a long week and not to have enough money to live. There is a big difference in a person's mentality and spirit between being broke and being poor. Broke means it is an inconvenience for a period of time. There is something that a person possibly cannot buy but he or she knows there is an expectation that it will not last that long. Being poor is very different, however. It is spirit crushing. If a child begins to feel it from his or her parent, parents or person in the household who is bringing back that low pay, then that sense of being poor sucks itself into the marrow of the child's bones and lasts a lifetime. He or she cannot and does not shake it and then passes it on to his or her own children. That is what we are talking about when we use phrases like "living wage". It is about the ability to live without that spirit-crushing sense of poverty or being poor.

Some 23% of Irish workers are in low pay. I did not believe it until a number of years ago when my colleague, Deputy Nash, told me this figure, and that when it comes to low pay in Ireland, we are the third highest in the OECD in terms of the proportion of Irish workers who are in low pay. Some 40% of workers aged under 30 are also in insecure work. However, let us get back to low pay for a second and its impact on a family. Not only that but there are also things in Irish society that people are expected to pay for that they are not expected to pay for in other European countries such as GP care, schoolbooks and other basic provisions the State would normally provide. In Ireland, therefore, it has an even bigger effect.

I heard recently at the Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment about the suggestion of bringing forward legislation on sick pay. It was remarkable to me to hear all the Government Members' response and, indeed, those from members of the Opposition about the position of the employer. We appreciate that but we must again set our mindset to change everything we do to ensure that child does not feel that sense of being poor the rest of his or her life and passes it on to the next generation. That is the game here. It is having an entitlement to pay that lifts a person up to have an ability to live. Testimonies have been sent in from around the country on how low pay affects young people.

As my colleague, Deputy Nash, already said, the Government's decision to continue the low rate of VAT until February 2023 is absolutely welcome for the hospitality industry. People working in the industry are three times more likely to be on the minimum wage, however. Where is the deal? Where is the demand from the Government to this industry that is paying its workers so poorly that as a result of getting this VAT cut, they must pay their workers a decent wage that allows them to live? Again, we impress on the Minister of State that the language is so important here. We are not just dealing with minimums; we are dealing with the capacity to live. We are also dealing with that child who cannot feel the weight of the sense of being poor.

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