Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Ireland is not just a rip-off Republic, it is also a Republic of low pay. More than 370,000 workers in this country are regarded as low paid. Sometimes the Government likes to repeat the Thatcherite mantra that work is the way out of poverty, but for one in five of those in work it certainly is not because they are still living below the poverty line in what is the fifth richest country in the world per capita. A majority of hospitality workers are low paid, while one third of workers in retail, food production, administration and entertainment are officially low paid. These are the essential workers for whom the Government clapped during the pandemic. These are the workers stocking the shelves and keeping shops open and running the pubs and restaurants that were missed so much when they were closed. These are also the workers in arts and entertainment who have had such a difficult few years but all they have to return to now is low pay. These workers deserve a raise.

It is time to outlaw poverty pay by raising the minimum wage to a living wage for all. We need to fight for a minimum wage of €15 an hour so that no worker is left in poverty. We must also get rid of the various loopholes and exemptions that bosses make use of to get around paying the minimum wage. It is outrageous that young workers in this country can be paid as little as €7.35 per hour. There are 10,000 young workers in this country earning less than the minimum wage legally as bosses push a race to the bottom that is bad for all workers. The Government allows this because it seems to think young people are just working to earn some extra pocket money for the weekend when many are trying desperately to cover bills, move out on their own or contribute to their family. They should not be discriminated against on the basis of their age and they should not be paid a poverty wage. That is why I brought forward the National Minimum Wage (Equal Pay for Young Workers) Bill to end that discrimination once and for all.

Finally, this is obviously one side of the cost-of-living crisis, with bills going up and wages remaining stagnant. We need a revolt in this country to demand action on the cost of living, including fighting for pay increases. We need to build a movement of ordinary people. We need to get out on the streets to tackle the profiteering of energy companies, the low pay and the poverty rates of social welfare payments. I am putting the Government on notice that a cost-of-living coalition is being built to bring people out onto the streets, starting next Thursday at lunchtime outside the Dáil and building to a major national demonstration on 18 June.

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