Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to get a chance to speak on the Living Wage Bill.

I am delighted to see the Labour Party worry so much about workers, the same party that hurt so many workers and women's pensions while in government. The Irish economy is at risk of being dragged into a "wage-price spiral" if workers begin demanding higher wages to match the current cost-of-living increases, according to a new warning from the Government funded Economic and Social Research Institute.

There is the already high cost of doing business in Ireland, the added risk of inflation, energy prices and the crippling levels of bureaucracy and red tape that emanate from the Government on an almost daily basis. An almost voiceless small business sector faces a gigantic crisis once the business support schemes are withdrawn in December 2022. The impact of all this will place enormous pressure on hundreds if not thousands of small businesses all across the country but especially in rural Ireland. It is important also to note that 92% of all small and medium-sized businesses in Ireland are characterised as micro businesses as they employ fewer than ten people and they represent the lifeblood of rural and regional Ireland. In fact, without them in rural areas there would be little to no employment available.

The Government's proposals to introduce well-intentioned initiatives on sick pay, pensions and a living wage, which is also the objective of this Bill, may well completely miss the point. I say that because these measures are arguably a very poor substitute for the more crucial policy goal of providing affordable levels of the most important cost of all, namely, accommodation. Many families now spend 40% or more of their disposable income on rent or a mortgage.

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