Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy raises an important point about the secondary effects of a pay rise. We will have to pay close attention to the issue of ensuring that work pays because we are seeing job vacancies and labour shortages throughout the economy. We have to examine all aspects of the system and how they interact with each other to make sure that any disincentives to work currently embedded in the system are weeded out so we can enable, encourage and facilitate people to work and we do not punish them in that way. The Deputy makes an important point, but it is complex when getting down to the nitty-gritty of how individual schemes interact with each other and their entitlements. It is an important point that we are awake to and are examining.

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