The Taoiseach was in Limerick during the week at the Limerick Chamber Regional Business Awards. When he spoke there, people were disillusioned and wondering if it was actually the Taoiseach speaking or an independent Deputy because what he was saying is not actually what his Government is carrying out. They actually thought, at the start of his speech, that he was reading my speech, with the things he was trying to introduce.

This is the story of a local business in Limerick before the budget. Before the budget was announced the store was already under immense pressure dealing with electricity bills which had increased from €8,000 to €15,000 and insurance costs that had gone up from €15,000 to €22,000. The alcohol segregation laws added costs of €5,000, while the cost of fuel meant that the margin on goods was reduced. Changes to statutory sick pay had resulted in an increase in rates of absenteeism. The business contacted me again after the budget and said that the Government had confirmed more increases. The minimum wage went up to €12.70, which will cost the business €25,0000. A new public holiday was introduced and pension auto-enrolment will cost €8,000, while changes to employers' PRSI will cost €4,000. Statutory sick pay is rising to five days, which will cost €6,000, while the deposit return scheme, the latte levy and decarbonisation costs will amount to €15,000. Before the budget, the business, a local supermarket, faced increases of €19,000 and after the budget its costs increased by €58,000, which means the business is facing a total increase of €77,000.

We saw the minimum wage increase but people are not fooled. Who is going to pay for the cost of all of these increases in our local supermarkets? The people who are getting the minimum wage. The minimum wage goes nowhere. All it has done is increase the cost of living. It has increased inflation. People may have more money in their pocket but they are paying more for goods. Employers are paying more money to employ people, which means that the only purse that got bigger was the Government's income tax. The Government is forcing small businesses that create local employment out of business. That is what the minimum wage has done. The Government had it within its grasp to reduce taxes, which would mean that the money in people's pockets would travel further. All that the Government has done is increase taxes across the board. Those who earn more pay more. The Government has increased inflation for every small business in this country and has crippled them.

We did reduce taxes in the budget, both the USC and income tax, and people will see that reflected in their pay slips in January. I am glad we were able to do exactly that. I am also glad to report that inflation is now easing. It is now at approximately half the rate it was at this time last year and needs to fall further. Those are the facts.

I stand over what the Government is doing when it comes to improving pay and terms and conditions for workers. It is something I have been working and leading on for many years now, as Minister for Social Protection, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and now as Taoiseach. I am determined to see through the introduction of a living wage, auto-enrolment so that all workers, particularly those in the private sector, are entitled to an occupational pension on top of the State pension, and the introduction of sick pay. This is the right thing to do and I said so at Limerick Chamber. I said it is the right thing to do because we should make work pay. If we make work pay, more people will work. There are 2.6 million people now working in Ireland, more than ever before, and that is a very good thing. If we make work pay, people have more money to spend in those small businesses the Deputy talks about and that will benefit business too. However, we have to do it in a way that is gradual and does not happen too quickly because there is a risk of damaging business and reducing employment if we move too quickly.

Recognising the increased costs that businesses face, we have set aside €250 million to help businesses, particularly small businesses, in the new year. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, is developing that scheme at the moment. It is going to cost approximately €250 million and 90% of rate-paying businesses will benefit from it. The total amount that will be paid out will be double what was paid out this year through the temporary business energy support scheme. That is being done in recognition of the fact there are businesses that will face increased costs and we want to help them out with that but we are not going to depart from doing what we believe fundamentally is the right thing to do, which is to make sure that people who work in Ireland are paid a decent wage, have decent terms, conditions and protections and a pension when they retire.

I agree with the Taoiseach 100% that people who work in Ireland deserve to get fair pay. The top earner in the HSE earns €974,000 a year whereas a newly qualified nurse earns €32,552. Again, we go back to the people who work and these nurses work tirelessly to help us. The Government is backing a person who earns €18,730.69 per week against a nurse who earns €625.80 and then it introduces a recruitment freeze in the HSE. Who is the Government actually working for? That wage would pay for 30 newly qualified nurses. The Government gives somebody €974,000 and stands over that. The top five earners in the HSE earn €3 million. A total of 92 nurses could be employed for that money but the Government introduces a recruitment freeze. The Taoiseach says that his Government is working for the people and for basic pay. It is criminal that these people get that type of money.

I really think the Deputy is all over the place, quite frankly. A minute ago he was criticising us for increasing the minimum wage and then two minutes later he was saying he thinks it is right that there should be an increase in the minimum wage and that people should be paid more. He talks about an employee in the HSE being paid €974,000. There is no employee in the HSE paid €974,000. It is possible that a medical contracting firm, or something like that, got that payment but certainly there is no employee of the HSE receiving that payment.

The recruitment freeze the Deputy refers to-----

Bernard Gloster is on €420,000.

That is half of the amount the Deputy mentioned.

The recruitment freeze the Deputy referred to does not apply to nurses, midwives, GPs-----

It does.

It does apply to nurses.

It does not apply to consultants-----

It does apply to nurses. The Taoiseach does not know what he is talking about. He is all over the place.

It does apply to nurses and the Taoiseach should correct the record of the Dáil.