Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I will be brief because we have debated these matters at length on the Order of Business and the Social Welfare Bill 2010. Senator Ó Brolcháin hit the nail on the head. We must give people incentives to work. The shrinking gap between social welfare and the minimum wage means there is no incentive for people to get off the dole and their medical cards to join the workforce on a wage of €7.65 per hour.

IBEC did not call for a €1 reduction in the minimum wage. The unions certainly did not demand a cut. Where is this policy coming from and has the Government put any thought into its decision? It is ludicrous to cut the minimum wage by €1 at a time when people in the higher echelons of the public service are getting bonuses of up to €200,000. There is no fairness in a system that allows this to happen. Senator Ó Brolcháin's party is allowing Fianna Fáil to reduce the wages of the poorest workers while at the same time offering massive bonuses to higher civil servants who do not need them. That is why we will be voting against this section.