As Minister for Justice and Equality, the Tánaiste has been getting a lot of heat recently on the question of justice, but I want to turn the heat up on the question of injustice and inequality. Two reports that were published recently by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Morgan McKinley show that the gender pay gap in this country is widening. Interestingly, the figures show that the pay gap between the earnings of men and women has increased dramatically while Fine Gael has been in government. The gap was 8.3% in 2012, but it increased to a high of 15.2% in 2015. The cost of child care in this country, which is one of the most expensive in Europe, is one of the factors contributing to this. It is supposedly planned to deliver a proper child care plan for female workers, 40% of whom are in low-paid, flexible or part-time contracts precisely because of the cost of child care. The reports I have mentioned show that 3,000 women are being driven out of the workforce each year because of the cost of child care. Another interesting fact set out in these reports is that in the last year or two, profits in the retail and hospitality sector have soared to over 40% above pre-crash levels. The workers in this sector are predominantly women. Equally, it is predominantly women who are on low pay, which is connected to low hours. It cannot be denied that as women work fewer hours on lower levels of pay, they are driven further and further into poverty and therefore the gender gap widens even further. There are scientific studies to show that this is the case.

This drives women further into poverty so the gender gap opens in this way.

I know the Tánaiste is not responsible for all those areas but she is responsible for dealing with the question of equality, and this indicates a large and growing equality gap affecting women in this country. As well as enduring discrimination in pay, hours and contracts through working life, women who are now retiring are finding their contributory pension is being cut drastically because of banding and averaging of hours. I know a couple, Paul and Pauline, who are related. Paul has half the contributions of Pauline but she earns 30% less from her contributory pension. Both of them have worked all their lives. The Tánaiste is presiding over inequality as Minister for Justice and Equality. Therein lies the injustice.

What will the Tánaiste do about the growing gender equality and pay gap? What will she do about the visible discrimination against pensioners, which is known to the Department? When they retire, they are discriminated against on two grounds: age and, mostly, gender. Women are primarily the homemakers and have been so through the years.

The first point is about gender equality. I saw the details of the report mentioned by the Deputy and they need examination. There were quite a number of areas where it was highlighted how well Ireland is doing. In terms of child care, the Government is investing more than has ever been invested in child care. The Deputy quite rightly states that for women combining work and family life, we need access to high-quality, affordable and accessible child care, and that is what the Government is committed to doing. We have introduced the second free preschool year and we have also dealt with the very important issue of young children in preschool who need access to special needs services. For the first time, the Government has ensured those children will have access to special needs supports and assessment, which is very important. Primarily, this is about increasing the number of affordable places, and that is happening with the second free preschool year. There are more children than ever - approximately 120,000 - availing of those two free preschool years. That will be rolled out in September. There is also the matter of after-school places and the Minister, Deputy Zappone, has been doing much work in ensuring more child care is available. That will help reduce the gap that the Deputy mentions.

I refer the Deputy to another survey on income and living conditions, which indicates income inequality decreased last year. That has been going absolutely in the right direction as a result of the decisions taken in recent budgets. It is a fact that income inequality has been decreasing and one would have to go back to 2009 to see that difference.

What are the figures?

I made the point earlier that the best way out of poverty and to be able to sustain one's family is having a job.

Tell that to the working poor. Their numbers are rising.

I know the Opposition does not like to acknowledge it but unemployment has decreased from 15.5% to 6.8%. Perhaps that is a statistic that should be focused on. It makes a difference to people's lives if they have an opportunity to be in a job and supporting their family. Most people want the opportunity to work. Tens of thousands of people have gone back to work, so the Deputies might occasionally acknowledge that this makes a difference to the quality of people's lives and household incomes. The evidence is that income inequality has been reducing in this country and we are becoming a more equal society, albeit with much work still to do.

Some are more equal than others.

I remind the Tánaiste that the headline from the report I mentioned is not that this State ranks well but rather it ranks 25th of 33 OECD countries in a table illustrating overall female economic empowerment.

This is the startling fact.

The Tánaiste has just said the good news is that people have jobs, any kind of a job. It is not if they are Tesco workers on pre-1996 contracts, most of whom are women. Their contracts have been arbitrarily torn up by the Tesco bosses, which is breaking the law. Will the Minister for Justice and Equality bring the Tesco bosses in here and tell them they cannot break contract law and that given that she is in charge of legislation, they are not going to rip up legislation under her nose? Will she defend those workers who are out on the picket line daily, in lashing rain, standing steadfast in solidarity with those 250 people, mainly women, who are being discriminated against? Again, I call on everybody who gives a damn about justice, equality and solidarity to get down to the picket lines at Tesco on Saturday at 12 noon to support the workers and insist that Tesco will not get away with breaking the law, as it is doing, on the Minister's watch.

I have been highlighting a range of actions which we need to take, and are taking, to deal with the Deputy's point about the gender pay gap. By this series of actions, we will arrive at a point when there is more equality on the gender pay gap. Many things can be done. Reversing the cuts to the minimum wage makes a difference. Promoting wage transparency by requiring companies with more than 50 employees to complete wage surveys and giving a strengthened role to the Low Pay Commission regarding the gender pay gap all make a difference, as well as what I said about child care.

Regarding Tesco, we appeal to, advise and encourage the parties to use the offices of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, and Labour Court. That is where this will be dealt with.

Tesco is breaking the law.

Tesco is breaking contract law.

We want management and unions to continue to work together to find a solution. That is what will happen in this dispute, the same as in every other dispute.

The Government has nothing to do with it.

What about the law?

We have a good history in hundreds and thousands of situations of using the WRC and the Labour Court, and this is clearly what needs to happen in this situation.

The law is the law.

The Tánaiste can make history, step in and do something about Tesco breaking the law.