Aideen Hayden (Labour)

I will be brief. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, to attend the House for a genuine debate on competitiveness. I am surprised by the statements made by one of our colleagues. When reference is made to competitiveness in the economy the speaker always has in mind taking more from already low paid workers. To listen to some of the comments that have been made one would imagine that the entire economic disaster was caused by the minimum wage and joint labour committees. I draw Senators' attention to the fact that international research shows that more equal societies are more rather than less competitive. For this reason, I ask the Leader to have a genuine and informed debate on the issue, rather than having Senators take a "dúirt ban liom" approach to the issue on the basis of a conversation they may have had with a multinational mogul their way to the House.