David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Labour Party tells us it wants to take politics out of setting the minimum wage. This is precisely the problem. The party's election manifesto from 2011 states that wage competitiveness should not be confused with a low wage agenda, yet this is the very agenda it is now pursuing in government. The Minister of State tells us that he can take no action on zero-hour contracts until he has gathered sufficient evidence of their existence. The truth is that the Government could and should have used the CSO to collect the data as part of the quarterly national household survey, which is what is now done in Britain. That is what could have been done, and the Government would then have had the data, rather than saying it does not have it.

The Tánaiste, Deputy Joan Burton, has said: “The Low Pay Commission represents the next step in the Government prioritising work and fairness as the economic recovery takes hold." We heard some of that from the Minister of State today as well. Yet the work of the commission is limited to the national minimum wage, which affects just under 5% of workers. We know the prevalence of low-paid work is much higher than that. The establishment of the national minimum wage commission is a political decision in that the Bill itself provides that the Minister can accept, reject or vary the recommendations of the commission.

The Government's use of State-sponsored bodies as a mechanism by which it can wash its hands of responsibility for policy and political decisions is completely disingenuous and fools no one. I very much hope the Low Pay Commission does not become the HSE of low pay. We have seen over and over again that Ministers for Health from today and previous days have washed their hands of responsibility. Any criticisms or questions about health service delivery were referred to the HSE. Only last week, we tabled questions in regard to how much it will cost for the State to become a living wage employer, but the Government was not in a position to provide that data. What did it say in the parliamentary response? It said it was now a matter for the Low Pay Commission. Already we can see the passing of the buck in this regard, and we are going to see more. It will be said that we cannot do anything about low pay, and we cannot do this that or the other, because that is a matter for the Low Pay Commission. That is taking politics out of it. It means the Government is not taking the decisions that should be taken. In reality, all of the data and evidence is there - I have mentioned the EUROSTAT report, the OECD report, the CSO report and the TASC report on economic inequality in this State. What has been lacking is the political will from this Government to do anything to support low-paid workers. Here it is, at the 11th hour, in its last year in government, establishing the Low Pay Commission, in reality to give the Labour Party cover going into an election in that it can say it has done something or is doing something for low pay. It is not going to save one Labour neck in the next election - that is for sure - but hopefully it might do something in regard to the national minium wage, which is essentially what it is confined to.

I have a lot more to say about the Bill itself. Unfortunately, we do not have the same time to scrutinise Bills here in the Seanad as Members do in the Dáil. However, we will have Committee Stage, during which my party will be tabling several amendments to the Bill. We will try to make the Low Pay Commission a commission that can genuinely deal with low pay in its entirety and actually learn the lessons of other models and other commissions which are working more effectively because they have changed the nature of their work in order that they can examine not just the minimum wage but also low pay in its entirety.

I give the Bill a cautious welcome, despite the fact that I have reservations. I accept that it is a step in the right direction. However, I also have genuine concerns, which I will articulate on Committee Stage.