Alasdair McDonnell
Main Page: Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)Department Debates - View all Alasdair McDonnell's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
(13 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Paterson
My hon. Friend is right. There was a survey which showed a 41.5% difference between a public sector wage and a private sector wage. It shows the task we have in helping to revive the private sector and making it an attractive place for bright, enterprising young people in Northern Ireland to go into. That is very much what we would like to do.
Dr Alasdair McDonnell (Belfast South) (SDLP)
Does the Secretary of State accept that the proposed changes to public sector pension contributions will have an even more severe impact in Northern Ireland because of the shape and balance of our economy?