Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank colleagues in the House for their co-operation and for a lively debate since we introduced the Bill into this House. While we have had some differences on the emphasis placed on different provisions of the Bill, I thank colleagues for supporting the general principle that is enshrined in the Low Pay Commission Bill, which provides for a new institutional framework to tackle the scourge of low pay, an issue that I think we are all concerned about.

I look forward to seeing how the Low Pay Commission evolves over the next period. It is an important institutional change in our bid to tackle low pay at a structural level. Low pay, and all that goes with it, needs to be addressed in a sustained, strategic and structured fashion and not in a piecemeal way, as has been the case before now.

I look forward, very shortly, to receiving the first report from the Low Pay Commission and a recommendation of a new rate for the national minimum wage. I also look forward to the input of Senators over the next period in regard to that debate. Again, I thank colleagues for supporting the principles enshrined in this particular Bill. I look forward to the Low Pay Commission making a sustained input into tackling low pay in this country on an ongoing basis.