Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The budget announced yesterday represented a key milestone for the country and its citizens. After many arduous years brought about by the profligacy of the previous Government, the fruits of the hard won economic recovery the Government has delivered have enabled us to plan for the type of social recovery we all want to see so badly. When I speak of a balanced recovery, I do not speak merely of a recovery spread geographically across the country or one which is merely spread into every economic sector. I also mean a recovery for every household, cohort and single socioeconomic group. Yesterday, in that context, I signed an order to increase the rate of the national minimum wage by 50 cent an hour from 1 January. The Government has accepted the advice of the Low Pay Commission, which I established, and ensured that the employee and employer PRSI issues highlighted by the commission in its report to me in July have been addressed. By the time this Dáil is dissolved next spring, we will have twice increased the rate of the national minimum wage during the lifetime of the Government, increasing the pay of a full-time worker on the national minimum wage by a cumulative €60 per week or more than €3,000 per year.

Job creation continues to be my first priority and that of the Government. During the crisis, we suffered one of the largest job losses in the advanced industrialised world. We lost 22% of all full-time jobs over a very short period of time. However, the creation of 130,000 in just three years and the fall in unemployment to 9.4% from a peak in 2012 of more than 15% really is an incredible turnaround, but that work is far from done and we are committed to reaching full employment by 2018 and to building on that to ensure we have an overall participation rate in the workforce of 70% by 2026. Alongside this drive towards full employment, I am committed to making work pay. We have no interest in jobs at any price. We will not stand over a recovery that is simply a race to the bottom in terms of pay and terms and conditions of employment.

I have reformed industrial relations laws in this country to ensure workers, through their trade unions, have the legal right to collectively bargain with their employers. Registered employment agreements have been restored and we have introduced a new system of sectoral employment orders. These systems represent not only an opportunity for the economy to continue to grow at a sustainable rate but also an opportunity to ensure industrial peace and that working people are fairly compensated for their hard work and the contribution they make to their enterprises. As Minister of State with responsibility for business and employment, I am acutely aware of the need to balance employment protection and job creation, but the bottom line is that workers need and are entitled to decent pay and basic security in their employment. Neither side wins when employment is insecure and employers are undercut by other firms using exploitative working practices. That is why the increase in the national minimum wage is such an important expression by the Government of our commitment to low-paid workers.

As a direct result, from 1 January, 120,000 low-paid workers across the economy will see an increase in their pay packets. For those working full-time, they will see a gross increase of €1,000 a year. A single person working full-time on the minimum wage will take home an extra €708 per annum, or €14 per week, as a result of the changes announced yesterday to the national minimum wage. Allied with this introduction on 1 January, we will have adjustments to the universal social charge and PRSI which will ensure they take home that increase. A married couple with a single income, on the national minimum wage, will see themselves €911 better off per year, which is the equivalent of €18 extra in their pockets every week. I am very pleased that in budget 2016, we have delivered the increase in the national minimum wage alongside the changes to PRSI and the universal social charge. We are consistently seeking to make work pay and to ensure work is always a positive option for people.

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