Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

In reply to Senator Jim Walsh, I stand over the package in its totality. It is crucial that we create an environment in which tax on new jobs will be reduced - we have done this in the legislation dealing with employer's PRSI - and people are given a clear incentive to take up employment. The PRSI changes announced in the package are clear and will be funded directly by overturning the previous Government's decision to reduce the minimum wage. Although 14% of the labour force are out of work, it should be noted that 1.8 million people are still in employment. It is crucial that every single one of these jobs is maintained in the real economy. Achieving this objective requires a mixture of policies, one of which is to incentivise people to take up work by restoring the minimum wage to its previous level. The race to the bottom, which Senator Jim Walsh and others appear to propose, is inherently wrong. If we are trying to have a competitive economy in which work is rewarded, while also ensuring the necessary competitive aspects of the economy are put in place, we-----