As Deputies Éamon Ó Cuív, Maureen O'Sullivan, Dara Calleary, Sean Fleming, Thomas P. Broughan, Mick Wallace, Clare Daly, Patrick O'Donovan, Seán Kyne, Michael McGrath, Pat Deering, Bernard J. Durkan, Charlie McConalogue, Catherine Murphy and Richard Boyd Barrett are not in the Chamber, we will move on to Question No. 130 in the name of Deputy Peadar Tóibín.
Other Questions
Small and Medium Enterprises Supports
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:130. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on the increased number of small and medium enterprises which are dissatisfied with the Government's enterprise policy. [17715/14]
What is unfolding here highlights the ludicrous scenario that Question Time has become, whereby Opposition spokespersons such as Deputy Calleary and me, who are tasked to hold the Government to account, have seen a reduction in the number of questions we can submit to Ministers while Government Deputies are being given a stronger opportunity to do so. It is obvious that Members on the other side of the House are likely to be less critical and less rigorous in holding Ministers to account. As we are seeing, some Government Deputies are not even bothering to turn up in the Chamber to put the questions they have tabled. For Opposition Deputies to have their ability to question Ministers reduced shows there is a need for reform of this procedure. I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to raise this issue with the powers that be so it can be resolved.
I will do so. Will the Deputy introduce his question?
To clarify, it is not just Government Deputies who are absent from the Chamber. In fact, most of these questions were tabled by Opposition Members. Deputy Tóibín's comment is very unfair. It is quite appalling that people put down questions and do not attend Question Time.
This situation is a consequence of the new rules brought in by the Government in order to avoid scrutiny.
Most of the questions were tabled by Opposition Deputies who are not in the Chamber.
The Government took the decision not to permit Opposition spokespersons to put colleagues' questions in the House.
This issue can be dealt with by the Ceann Comhairle and the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
Opposition Members are not here to put their questions. Deputy Tóibín is inferring these questions were all tabled by Deputies on this side of the House. That is incorrect.
I am not making excuses for any Opposition Deputy who fails to turn up in this Chamber. The Minister of State is trying to deflect attention from his own Deputies who failed to turn up. The critical point is that the new rules have reduced the Opposition's opportunity to hold Ministers to account.
Most of the questions are from Opposition Members. That is a fact.
Will Deputy Tóibín introduce Question No. 130?
A recent report indicated that owners of small and medium enterprises are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the Government's SME policies. There has been an overall reduction in the level of credit afforded to small businesses in their efforts to grow. Will the Minister give his view on why the SME sector is becoming increasingly divergent from the Government's policies in this area?
I do not accept the Deputy's contention that small and medium enterprises are becoming increasingly unhappy. While I recognise that this sector has suffered difficult times, the data indicate that it accounts for the bulk of employment growth. There has been strong growth in the past 12 months in a number of sectors typified by small business, including the tourism and food sectors. There is a broad spread.
The needs of small business in terms of access to credit are regularly reviewed. A broad suite of measures, totalling €2.5 billion, has been introduced to assist small and medium enterprises, including the microenterprise and loan guarantee schemes. Each year, prior to the putting in place of the Action Plan for Jobs, consultative sessions are held with small and medium enterprises to ensure we are addressing their needs.
It is not my contention but that of the survey that the small and medium enterprise sector is becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the Government's progress on this issue. In this regard, the survey cites the lack of and reduction in credit over the past year and the procurement rules operated by this State, including the continuing policy of rolling up procurement in this State which makes it inaccessible to SMEs. I have tabled numerous questions to the Minister's Department on the issue but they are continually deflected.
The SME sector is also dissatisfied with the creeping increases in costs here, including the price of diesel, the cost of which in Ireland is the fourth highest in the EU, electricity costs and upward only rents, which issue the Government continues to fail to address. On the issue of rates, businesses want rates to be progressive and to reflect the profitability of a business but there is no effort on the part of Government to try to create a progressive rate to allow this to happen. These are the issues that the business community is focused on. I would encourage the Government to listen to it and to try to resolve those issues.
I agree that there are issues to be resolved. However, the Deputy needs to reflect on the changes that have been made by Government, including the reduction in the VAT level, travel tax and PRSI, all of which are geared towards meeting the needs of small business. Other new initiatives such as the microfinance and loan guarantee schemes-----
They are a flop.
-----are aimed at meeting the needs of small business. Also, under JobsPlus a €72 per week subsidy is available to a business that recruits from the live register. These initiatives are very much targeted at the needs of businesses that are small in scale. We regularly review those needs. Another new initiative is the introduction of a first-time exporters scheme to support small business used to trading domestically but now wishing to export. We are currently rolling out a system to assist more businesses get online so that they can have outreach to the broader market. There are a lot of new initiatives taking place.
I accept the Deputy's point in relation to procurement. There is a genuine dilemma in this area. By centralising procurement, real savings and better value can be achieved for the Exchequer but this may mean that small and medium-sized enterprises are squeezed out. The new director of public procurement meets regularly with small businesses, is currently reviewing the code of practice and is introducing pilot systems to consult with small business regarding its experience. There is an openness to small business in the public procurement arena. There is no doubt but that central procurement achieves savings. At a time when the alternative is cuts in real service delivery, one has to review areas such as procurement. There is a balance to be struck.
As other Deputies have joined us, I propose to return to Question No. 105, which is in the name of Deputy Calleary. We will then take questions in the names of Deputies Sean Fleming, Clare Daly, and Thomas P. Broughan.
Horizon 2020 Strategy Funding
Dara Calleary
Ceist:105. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation how Ireland will be able to maximise funding for research and development under the Horizon 2020 plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17458/14]
I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for facilitating us. I must point out that we were elsewhere on the premises dealing with other business.
Horizon 2020 is hugely important for this country. The Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, has indicated that a potential gain of €1.1 billion over the next ten years has been identified. How is it intended to pursue this funding and, in particular, how will SMEs - as opposed to third level institutions - be able to access it?
Horizon 2020, with a budget of just under €80 billion and covering the period 2014 to 2020, is the European Union's largest ever research and innovation programme. It is also the largest such programme worldwide. Horizon 2020 is a core part of the Europe 2020 strategy, the innovation union and the European research area and is responding to the economic crisis in Europe by investing in future jobs and growth, addressing people's concerns about their livelihoods, safety and environment and strengthening the EU's global position in research, innovation and technology. Under the seventh framework programme for research, technological development and innovation 2007-13, Ireland secured almost €600 million and thereby achieved the national target set for Irish participation.
The objectives of Horizon 2020 are to enable the creation of a world-class research system for Europe, support European leadership in industrial development and address grand challenges affecting society. My Department, building on the performance under the seventh framework programme, has been instrumental in putting in place an all-of-Government strategy to maximise the funding available to Ireland. In December 2013, the Government approved a national strategy for participation in Horizon 2020 and set an ambitious target of €1.25 billion - a huge amount - in respect of funding to Ireland over the lifetime of the programme. The strategy sets out a comprehensive range of actions designed to maximise Ireland's participation in the programme and achieve the target involved.
A Horizon 2020 high level group, under the chairmanship of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, has been established and its work will include identifying key areas of opportunity where Irish researchers, agencies and companies - the latter is important in the context of the Deputy's question - can maximise their participation. A support network of national contact points co-ordinated by Enterprise Ireland has been established. This network comprises knowledgeable and experienced practitioners from relevant Departments who have been charged with the job of delivery. The national strategy for Horizon 2020 also provides for all relevant Government Departments and agencies to allocate the necessary resources for its full implementation. The high level group will monitor Ireland’s participation under the programme, as well as implementation of the national strategy.
Will the Minister of State confirm whether a plan has been prepared? If the answer is in the negative, will he indicate when one will be prepared and submitted to the Commission for consideration? The role played by Ms Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, our Commissioner to the EU, in respect of this matter should be acknowledged. This is the only area in respect of which an increase has been achieved under the new EU budget. The Commissioner will remain in Europe for a few months more and it would be a shame if we did not use her skills - particularly as I cannot see her being replaced by anyone of equivalent ability - in order to maximise opportunities for Ireland under Horizon 2020. We should also use her expertise afterwards.
In specific terms the question must be asked, is there a plan? If there is not, when will one be prepared and submitted? Will there be opportunities through, for example, the local enterprise office, LEO, network for funding to be provided to SMEs which may not be linked to third level institutions or their PhD programmes but which may want to expand their operations by using opportunities available under Horizon 2020?
There is a central office within Enterprise Ireland, which is under the management of Ms Julie Sinnamon, and I have no doubt it will make plans to maximise the amount of funding to be obtained by Ireland. The Deputy must remember that the Government approved a national strategy for participation in Horizon 2020 and set an ambitious target of €1.25 billion in respect of funding to Ireland over the lifetime of the programme. Ireland was successful in achieving its target of €600 million in respect of the seventh framework programme and the target for Horizon 2020 represents a doubling of this. It was determined that an ambitious but realistic target be set in order to drive the fullest engagement on the part of both the public and private sectors. It must be noted that there is private sector involvement and that it is not all public. Science Foundation Ireland also has its own plan.
A high level group on Horizon 2020, under the chairmanship of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and with Enterprise Ireland to the fore, has been established to oversee the national strategy. In the context of encouraging the application of competitive advantage, opportunities for Ireland exist across many areas of the Horizon 2020. The network of national contact points, comprising experts from all key Departments, is working to maximise these opportunities and to support applicants. The high level group responsible for overseeing the implementation of the national strategy will carry out strategic assessments in respect of the opportunities to which I refer.
In the context of the LEOs, there is money available under the programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, COSME, fund. This is the first time ever that the Government has secured funding for business. The LEOs will be able to access the COSME, which provides many cross-Border supports and other funding opportunities.
COSME is completely separate from Horizon 2020. I must again ask if there is a national plan in respect of how we are going to obtain the €1.25 billion targeted in the context of Horizon 2020. What is the precise role of the high level group, particularly in the context of the national strategy to which the Minister of State referred? If there is a plan in existence, has it been published and will it be submitted to Brussels for consideration?
This Government has the plans. It not only about having plans. The Government will have actions, straight talk and delivery. The previous Administration had many plans but no delivery. We intend to draw down this funding.
There is no plan.
We have a plan.
Where is it?
All the plans must be delivered and tendered for. They are not going to dish out money without a plan. Surely Deputy Calleary does not expect that to happen.
Regional Aid
Seán Fleming
Ceist:106. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to set out his priorities in respect of the regional aid map recently submitted to the European Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17461/14]
Will the Minister set out his priorities in respect of the regional aid map submitted to the European Commission? The relevance of this is to ensure IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and other agencies prioritise disadvantaged areas.
The regional aid guidelines established enable the State's industrial development agencies to pay grants at enhanced rates to businesses to support new investment and employment in productive projects in Ireland's most disadvantaged regions. All such grants come from the Exchequer. The priorities during the regional aid guidelines negotiation process were to maintain population coverage, ensure aid could be given to all categories of companies regardless of their size and to maintain aid intensity rates.
The initial proposal from the Commission presented significant challenges for Ireland. The proposal prohibited aid to large enterprises, but the Minister, Deputy Bruton, got this changed. It reduced our population coverage from 50% to 25% and reduced aid intensity rates. Following sustained engagement with the Commission and like-minded member states at all levels, Ireland secured entitlement to increase regional aid qualification to 51.25% of the country's population. Another issue in the negotiations was the prospect of not being allowed to grant aid large enterprises. Ireland was part of a group of member states which successfully negotiated a compromise whereby it will be possible to provide investment to large enterprises.
My Department is tasked with developing a single regional aid map applicable from July 2014 to December 2020. An inter-agency group has been working since 2011 to develop an overall position and to assess the implications of any proposed changes. The process is now complete and my Department has issued the proposed regional aid map for Ireland to the Commission for consideration and approval. The Department will publish the results of this submission once the Commission has finalised its consideration of the matter. In essence, the final version of the regional aid guidelines represents an important step in ensuring Ireland, along with the EU in general, is positioned to maintain the ability to strengthen the EU economy and to promote cohesion between regions.
Will the Minister of State publish the submission as urgently as possible? I realise it is under consideration at European level but perhaps we could see the submission. In essence, the most important people to whom the Minister should talk about the regional aid map are the representatives of IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. I met senior executives of both at the Committee of Public Accounts recently. When we asked about regional development, they almost looked down their snooty noses at people, as if to suggest we simply wanted something for our county or region. They said we had to look at Ireland in a certain context. They have zero interest in regional development. They want big projects in the big cities and that is the beginning and the end of it because they want jobs. There is proof of what I am saying in the number of visits last year to the Border, midlands and western, BMW, region, which represents almost half the counties of Ireland. Approximately 58 out of the 300 visits which took place last year, that is, 20%, were to this region. Fully 80% of the visits took place outside the BMW region. Reference was made to job creation in the regions. A total of 7,071 jobs were created in 2013, only 20% of which were in the BMW region. Will the Minister of State ensure IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland consider the regions? Europe is not the problem.
Given the presence of local enterprise officers and local county boards, there will be a regional structure. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, is formulating a regional structure. We should remember that aid intensity rates will be maintained at the current levels. It is important to put this on the record.
The current regional aid guidelines and the upcoming 2014 outline suggest that aid intensity in Ireland must not exceed 30% for small enterprises, 20% for medium-sized enterprises and 10% after that. These rates are the same as currently available in Ireland, apart from the BMW region, for which an additional 5% is currently available. However, this was a transition period in which the BMW region moved ahead of the A status which refers to being among the most deprived areas.
One of the key issues for Ireland in securing this deal was that whereas the backdrop was that investment aid to large enterprises had to be prohibited, population coverage had to be reduced from 50% to 25% and aid intensity rates had to be reduced dramatically, the Minister secured outcomes whereby large enterprises would be allowed new activities, population coverage would be maintained and aid intensity would be maintained. We are altogether committed. Let us consider the larger companies.
The level of foreign direct investment, FDI, by larger companies has been high. It is the choice of the company entering Ireland. The IDA cannot direct companies to go to Sligo, Kilkenny or anywhere else.
The Minister of State is saying that all of these maps count for nothing.
I did not say that at all.
It is down to the big shots in some other country to decide where a company goes. The purpose of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland is to support balanced regional development but the Minister of State has let the cat out of the bag. The purpose of the incentives is to encourage companies to set up in counties where they might not otherwise go. I do not expect them to set up in areas where there is not sufficient infrastructure.
At Europe, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation secured the status quo. The large companies will still get the large grants and half the population of Ireland - the big cities - will be prioritised again. If he had allowed 25% of the population to be incentivised geographically as opposed to the 75% who are currently better off, there was a chance that areas like the BMW region would have received a reasonable level of investment. The current arrangement has delivered 80% of investment for the well-off counties and 20% for the remainder. The Minister is propagating that situation.
The Deputy has misread the situation entirely. If he had listened to the reply, he would have heard that the larger cities did not get the aid. For example, a large number of companies have entered Sligo and the Border region. The Deputy can shake his head as much as he likes, but that is a fact.
The Government secured a good deal on regional aid. The Government's job is to work with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. It has been successful, although investment has not been seen in every region. The next tranche of the Government's strategy is to encourage enterprise. The regional aid should be a major help in that regard. Large cities are not getting the aid. That is a fact.
Deputy Broughan has the next question.
May I contribute on this question? I raised my hand.
I am sorry, but we are out of time. We have only six minutes per question. I must go on to-----
I want to contribute. I have an entitlement to speak on this question.
If we had time, of course, but we only have six minutes per question and two Deputies will contribute on the next question.
Employment Data
Thomas P. Broughan
Ceist:107. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation further to Parliamentary Question No. 469 of 25 March 2014, the manner in which his Department is keeping the use of zero-hour contracts under review. [17403/14]
Last month, Deputy Wallace and I asked the Minister about zero-hour contracts, which are prevalent in the fast food, health care, home care and retail industries. To form a basic point of departure, we asked him to start collecting statistics on zero-hour contracts through the Central Statistics Office, CSO. I asked the Taoiseach the same question. Many people consider these contracts to be a form of bonded labour, as employees have no choice whatsoever. They are unsure of which days they will work or for how many hours. They are at the whim of employers. The Minister is presiding over this situation.
Zero-hour contracts are matters of contract law. They must be entered into freely by the employer and employee and cannot be forced on an employee. While the CSO does not collect data on zero-hour contracts, this does not mean that there is no information available regarding them.
The National Employment Rights Authority, NERA, which is within the remit of my Department, has a team of inspectors who enter workplaces on a daily basis. NERA also has an information service that provides information in response to queries from employees and employers on issues of concern. My officials are in regular contact with NERA with a view to ascertaining emerging issues that may need to be addressed from a policy perspective. Zero-hour contracts have not arisen as an issue in this context.
It must be noted that much of the media coverage regarding zero-hour contracts relates to the situation in the UK. It is possible to distinguish the position in Ireland on zero-hour contracts from that of the UK by virtue of the fact that, in section 18 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, we have a specific protection for employees on zero-hour contracts. There is no equivalent provision in UK legislation. In the UK, employees on zero-hour contracts are only paid for time spent working. If they are not given hours by their employers, they receive no compensation.
In Ireland, the zero-hour protection set out in section 18 covers situations where, for example, an employee is sent home if work is quiet or is requested to be available for work and is not, on the day, asked to work. Where an employee suffers a loss by not working hours he or she was requested to work or to be available to work, the zero-hour provisions of the Act ensure that he or she is compensated for 25% of the time that he or she is required to be available or 15 hours, whichever is the lesser. Of course, the level of compensation available under section 18 may be impacted if the employee gets some work.
In addition to protections under section 18, the protections in the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 and other employment rights legislation that apply to part-time employees also apply to employees on zero-hour contracts.
The foregoing demonstrates that existing protections in Irish employment rights legislation for persons on zero hours contracts are better than protections in some other EU countries. Finally, it is worth noting that under EU law, zero hours contracts are in themselves permitted as long as they are used in a way that respects the relevant provisions of EU law, with particular reference to workers' health and safety.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
With regard to section 18, the Minister has given me practically the same reply as he gave a month ago. This is a very flimsy protection, if any. Most employees in those circumstances will not wish to go to a rights commissioner or go through that process. The Minister cannot present figures to the House on how many people on zero hour contracts felt they were badly treated or treated at a whim by an employer. He has no figures whatsoever to show what the situation is. I asked him to collect statistics and he was asked by other Deputies, such as Deputy Wallace, to start collecting statistics on the situation with zero hours contracts, but he has refused to do so. We were referred to the Quarterly National Household Survey but that gives no information on how these operate. In a similar sized economy such as Scotland there are 85,000 to 100,000 workers in this situation and in the UK there are approximately 1 million workers on these contracts.
There has been an explosion of developments in the home care industry, for example, which are totally based on zero hour contracts. People are working broken shifts and at the whim of an employer, very often for the minimum wage. They are doing extremely important work for this community. The Minister has not taken responsibility for this. In fact, he is not interested in the rights of these workers or in protecting them. It is not on his agenda at all.
On the issue of data, NERA carried out an inspection in respect of one of the companies to which the Deputy and others have referred. In that inspection none of the staff was on a zero hour contract when the inspection was carried out. It is not that nothing is happening to identify the situation; things are happening.
Regarding the other issue of people in the caring community, the Labour Court issued a recommendation last September concerning home helps employed by the HSE. This recommendation was accepted by both sides as a binding recommendation of the court. The HSE is proceeding to give effect to the recommendation, which will result in approximately 10,000 home helps receiving annualised hour contracts from the HSE in place of zero hour contracts.
Will that include subcontractors? There is a huge range of subcontractors across the home care sector and I have received complaints about the conditions of those workers. At the very least, could the Minister and the Taoiseach, with whom I have also raised this matter, not begin to collect the statistics and give us the facts? As a result we would know what the position is not just in one company or in one instance, but across the economy, and how many workers are on zero hour contracts and the conditions under which they are working. Then, perhaps, the Minister could bring legislation to the House.
I will have to find out for the Deputy whether that ruling of the Labour Court applies to the people who are contracted by the HSE. I do not have that information to hand.
Collecting data is a matter for the Central Statistics Office, CSO. It surveys full-time and part-time employment. Of the 61,000 additional people at work, 90% are in full-time employment. There is a pattern. Early in the recovery we saw a large number of part-time positions being filled but more recently, as progress is being made, predominantly full-time jobs are being created across all sectors of the economy. There is some data from the CSO on part-time working, but not specifically on zero hour contract working.
Employment Rights
Mick Wallace
Ceist:108. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when stakeholder discussions on collective bargaining are expected to conclude; if he will reform the current law on employees' right to engage in collective bargaining in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17417/14]
The question refers to a programme for Government commitment which has still not been implemented after three years. Does the Minister plan to reform the law on collective bargaining before the end of 2014?
It has been the consistent policy of successive Irish Governments to promote collective bargaining through the laws of this country and through the development of an institutional framework supportive of a voluntary system of industrial relations that is premised upon freedom of contract and freedom of association. An extensive range of statutory provisions has been put in place designed to provide the legislative support for such a framework. By its nature, such a framework evolves in response to changing social, economic and legal circumstances.
The programme for Government contained a commitment to "reform the current law on employees' rights to engage in collective bargaining (the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001, so as to ensure compliance by the State with recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights". Both the Industrial Relations Act 2001 and its associated Act of 2004 were enacted to provide a mechanism by which the fairness of the employment conditions of workers in their totality could be assessed and to provide protection for employees initiating action in this regard. However, the 2007 decision of the Supreme Court in Ryanair v. the Labour Court cast doubt on the functionality of the Acts and had a chilling effect on their usage.
In addition, following the publication of the programme, the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association issued its report in response to a complaint referred to it by ICTU and IMPACT, arising from the Ryanair Supreme Court judgment. As part of my response to the ILO, I indicated that these matters would be addressed in the context of a review of the operation of the Acts. Acting on the commitment in the programme has required consultation with stakeholders, including employer and worker representatives in the context of their experience of the operation of the existing legislative framework. In late 2012, I requested key stakeholders to make submissions on the matter. Over the course of the last year several comprehensive submissions and presentations have been received from a range of interested parties, ranging from trade union representatives, employer representatives, State bodies and others. These submissions contained a range of often conflicting but rationally espoused positions submitted constructively in response to my invitation.
Further engagement between my officials and stakeholders is under way, with a view to developing proposals to bring to the Cabinet shortly. I hope to be in a position to bring forward legislative proposals in the very near future.
Ireland is probably the dearest little country in which to live and survive. Given that there has been a huge increase in what can only be described as precarious work, the great majority of the new jobs created in the last couple of years have been low paid and many of them are temporary as well, with very poor working conditions in many cases. It has reached a stage where the worker does not have as many protections as he used to have. Given the fact that the unions sold out a while ago, there is nobody to represent the workers now. It would be good if the Government would take the side of the workers and introduce extra protections for them when they are in difficult circumstances with their employers.
The bargaining position of the worker has never been as weak with the employer, due to the scarcity of work. Does the Minister not think that the State itself should be taking more proactive measures to protect the workers?
I agree with the Deputy. We have done a number of things to try to protect workers. We increased the minimum wage, which was one of the first steps taken when we returned to office. The courts struck down the joint labour committees and registered employment agreements, but we have already passed legislation on JLCs and we will be reinstating the REAs. We also introduced agency worker legislation based on EU provisions.
It is not true that most of the jobs are precarious and low paid. The reality is that the recovery is now broad based. The Deputy's colleague, Deputy Finian McGrath, complained earlier that all the jobs were for high flyers and that there were no jobs at modest levels.
He is a high flyer himself.
The truth is that there is a spread of employment opportunities.
I will look after the unemployed of Dublin Bay North.
Please.
Employment has expanded across all occupations at skilled, unskilled and highly skilled levels. There is a balanced recovery under way.
Perhaps I do not have well-off friends like Deputy McGrath but for a large number of workers in the low-paid sector it has reached a point where people with jobs are suffering deprivation. The Minister states that the Government increased the minimum wage, and it was good that this happened, but the minimum wage is too low for people to have a decent standard of living in this dear country. Some interesting research carried out in America showed that the low wages paid by the likes of McDonalds and Walmart have led to the taxpayer subsidising their wages indirectly in order for them to survive. If we carried out the same research here, would we find that the State is supplementing low wages that the private sector pays to some of these workers?
As I have already indicated, we did restore the minimum wage. People employed on a full-time basis on the minimum wage have substantially more than they get on the live register. As I said to Deputy Broughan, 90% of those obtaining employment now are in full-time positions. We are seeking to ensure that vulnerable workers will be protected by the restoration of REAs and JLCs, which were the traditional mechanisms for protecting workers. We will be reinstating those legislative provisions with a view to protecting those who would be vulnerable.
The payment of family income supplement has long been recognised as a justifiable intervention because it recognises that large families need additional support. Such payments are a good and progressive measure.
Questions Nos. 109 to 129, inclusive, replied to with Written Answers.