Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for bringing forward this Bill. We support the Bill and look forward to teasing through the issues on Committee Stage. This is a very important issue. The Government has a duty and responsibility to abolish sub-minimum rates of pay that are used to exploit young workers and have no place in our society. Equal pay for equal work is fundamentally what this is about. The State needs to recognise this principle and end the exploitation of young workers.

My colleagues, Senator Gavan and Deputy O'Reilly, have been campaigning on this issue for some time now, including in the context of the National Minimum Wage (Removal of Sub-minimum Rates of Pay) Bill 2021. That legislation was introduced in 2018. It is five years since Sinn Féin first introduced legislation on this issue, and young people are still affected. As we see time and again, the Government continues to do nothing for young people. There are young people struggling with the cost of rent, education, transport and the cost-of-living crisis while they are also subjected to punitive and outdated rates of pay. The concept enshrined in this situation is based on a whole series of outdated assumptions. There is an assumption that families are generally doing okay and that they have the capacity to carry the costs of young people. There is an assumption that all family units are happy and coherent but, unfortunately, that is not the case and very often, young people do not get the support they should at home. In such instances, their own independent income is vital. That is not the typical case but when we set down rules and legislation, we must take into account all sets of circumstances. The assumptions involved are quite outdated.

There are also assumptions in respect of apprenticeships, as has been outlined. Perhaps once upon a time the vast majority of apprentices were 15 or 16 years old and did not need a full income. That was an outdated assumption at that time and that is even more the case now when many people are leaving industries later in life. Perhaps such a person has children. The route of apprenticeships is closed off to that person. The whole issue of the pay rates for apprenticeships needs to be revised.

We are talking about exploitative practices affecting young people. There was some criticism of the trade union movement earlier. Trade unions are sometimes due criticism but they have done good work in ensuring that in certain retailers, this practice has been eliminated. I encourage all young workers to join trade unions to try to ensure their rights are vindicated. Ultimately, the Government can and should act.

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