Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Máire Devine.

Yesterday, Ms Patricia King of ICTU provided some startling information to the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, which I propose to share with Senators. The most recent statistics from the Central Statistics Office show that 35.2% of the workforce earn less than €400 per week. Senators should think about that statistic because it means one in three workers employed in the State earns less than €400 per week gross. Incidentally, this is less than one third of what Senators are paid weekly before expenses. Another 32% of employees earn between €400 and €800 per week. As such, the Government's own statistics demonstrate that this is a low-wage economy. Ireland is second from the bottom in terms of low wages in the OECD.

I ask that the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, come to the House to debate this issue. The problem with the so-called recovery is simple. There is no recovery for people who earn €400 per week or less and when we have one in three workers employed on poverty wages. We must implement constructive policies that will help to address this issue. One simple way of doing so would be to address how the State can support a living wage, perhaps in its procurement policies, as occurs in Scotland. I am trying to be constructive and I would like a constructive response from the Government side, rather than have Senators throw the usual brickbats. There is a problem with poverty pay and the onus is on us to address it. I ask the Leader to ensure the Minister comes to the House and that all sides contribute to tackling this issue.