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The government plans to introduce a living wage to tackle income inequality, said Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
r Martin has also voiced his support for a new broadcasting charge to fund the media in the future and said he has told local authorities that the Government will fund any new greenway projects they have as part of their response to the climate crisis.
Martin said in a pre-Christmas briefing for political journalists that Covid-19 has exposed income inequality and that the government would introduce measures to address this, including a living wage.
“I think there is a clear message emanating from Covid that it has exposed the duality of the Irish economy in terms of low wage workers and in terms of … and yet the sectors that were key to all of us since March henceforth they were retail Etcetera.
“Now some employers have been good, I have to say, in terms of the practices that they have put in place regarding their workforce. And I think we have to look at that and the government will be looking at the whole area of a living wage, that is. something we have to do, not just a minimum wage but a living wage, that would really solve that problem to some extent.
“And also, better conditions for workers and we will have to constantly look at it, we have already addressed it in some way in terms of the hours of the contract and in terms of security of permanence for the employees.
“All of that has to be looked at and is being looked at, in order to support income security for the lowest paid workers, even the current public service pay arrangement is weighted towards the lowest income workers in the service. And I think it will be a matter for the Government regarding that issue. “
He said that overall Ireland is better than other countries in terms of income inequality, but said that “we have to continue like this”, and that coming out of the pandemic “there is a much greater degree of recognition and respect for that issue.”
On climate action, Martin said the pandemic had made people focus on the need to deal with the “existential threats” it poses. He said that the National Economic Recovery Plan, to be launched in the New Year, will focus heavily on the green economy and “digitization.”
“In a sense, people reflecting on Covid are saying that we have to solve the most existential threat we face, which is the weather, and we just have to take action in relation to it,” he said.
He said the most recent meeting of the European Council dragged on for 23 hours to reach an agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% over the next 10 years compared to 1990 levels.
“One or two countries resisted and the rest of the member states felt we had to stick with this until we get an outcome for the younger generations, and that’s what some leaders said, ‘We need to do this for the younger generations, We cannot fail in this meeting. ‘
“I know that Eamon Ryan is strong in this and he has my support 100%, like that Fianna Fáil is going to be strong in this in the government, we are not holding back, there is a great opportunity in terms of greenways and roads.”
Mr. Martin added: “I have told the local authorities wherever I find them: ‘dust off your plans.’ Any project ready for the shovel, there will be funding for them because the quality of life that is improved due to providing a simple greenway is huge. People keep talking to me about the Dungarvan trail, for example, and the huge impact it has had on people’s quality of life. So I would like to see more and more of that. “
He said the Just Transition Fund provides the opportunity to invest in environmentally friendly projects in communities that previously relied on heat generating plants, such as the Midlands. He said increases in the carbon tax had not been popular, but there was no alternative.
“I would say to those who oppose it, they just can’t take climate change seriously if they are not prepared to do the hard work associated with it, and that involves a carbon tax that generates revenue that allows us to do big projects. such as modernization, the protection of those in a situation of energy poverty “.
On the other hand, Mr Martin said that “it had always been my opinion” that a broadcasting charge should be introduced and that this is being examined by the recently established Commission for the Future of the Media. He said the position should go into a designated fund to provide adequate resources to the media.
“I believe that modern media are threatened by a wide range of forces and I believe that the more independence we can create around journalism and the media, the better. I believe that public service broadcasting plays a key role in the democracy of any nation. That’s my opinion, Long-Term View. Some may say he’s naive in some respects, but regardless of what I might think, you know, of journalists in particular, but I think in a modern age, he’s under threat. “
Martin said journalists should be better paid and journalism majors should be more attractive to students.
“I think we have to pay journalists better. If you are a young man in college and you aspire to be a journalist, we have to have a clear and meaningful career path for journalists. I would like to highlight Funding from the General Fund for Investigative Journalism.”
Martin said the work is getting “more authoritarian” and that we should be concerned that some governments undermine the media. He said that the importance of free and independent journalism that is well resourced, but not sponsored by the government, must be made clear to the public.
“That has never been more important given the proliferation of all kinds of news sources and fake news and so forth, on social media platforms,” he said. “So that’s my opinion. I think it’s a mechanism that I support. Others may have different options and we will await the outcome of the commission’s report.”
Independent Sunday
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