Ms Gráinne O'Toole:

I thank the committee for the invitation to speak here today. The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland is a national non-government organisation which works with families and migrant workers who have low pay and who are very vulnerable to exploitation and discrimination. We provide a free and confidential drop-in centre. Last year, we dealt with more than 2,000 cases. We also provide a range of outreach activities targeting more than 2,000 additional people each year. We have a long track record in working on issues of low pay, exploitation and lack of enforcement of rights.

To reiterate what was said earlier about Ireland having a serious low pay problem, I will not reel out the statistics but there are substantiated statistics from which we are learning more about the entrenched nature of the problem here. In looking at the regulatory impact assessment and the heads of Bill, we are confining our comments to the scope and the function of the low pay commission. We welcome the initiative of establishing the low pay commission. We have long believed that an increase in the minimum wage is overdue and we are looking forward to seeing what evidence-based recommendations will be made. We also know from the UK experience that the increase in minimum wage did not have an adverse effect on unemployment. This is an important and good starting point.

Given the precariousness of people's work in the low pay sector, which is characterised by insecure hours and zero-hour contracts, lack of progression and exploitation, the issues surrounding low pay are grave in some sectors. This is particularly so in the more non-regulated sectors. We therefore need to be ambitious in trying to address these issues.

We feel that it was the intention in the Government's priorities to establish the low pay commission as an independent body. At the moment, there is nothing in the way the heads of Bill are constructed that gives this aspect any kind of protection. We have seen the undermining of institutions such as the Equality Authority over the past number of years. If there was a change in Government and it was not interested in low pay issues and they became less of a priority, there is no safeguard in the way the low pay commission is currently being constructed to protect its integrity and independence. We would like to see this addressed. We would like to see the low pay commission having a relationship with the Oireachtas but we would like to see more work on this relationship.

The Government's priorities included having the low pay commission examine minimum wage issues. It is clear this will happen and that this will be its priority over the first year, but it was also to look at other related matters. Our concern is that this is not reflected in the heads of Bill in terms of the functions of the low pay commission contained in head 2. The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland believes that we should be more ambitious given the prevalence of the low pay issue and recommends that related matters should be provided for in the Bill and the definition of what this means expanded. The Bill should set out exactly what these related matters would be. We also recommend that the low pay commission would act more as a watchdog-type organisation which could seek to support the Government in setting a target to eliminate low pay.

Lessons can be learned from the UK experience. A detailed review of the UK Low Pay Commission was conducted by the Resolution Foundation. The UK commission achieved what it set out to do and I have no doubt that our commission will do the same. The UK Low Pay Commission managed to increase minimum wages. However, it was also highlighted that there was a shortfall because the UK commission did not manage to address the pervasive issue of low pay.

Our concerns surround the narrowness of the remit and trying to tackle the minimum wage on its own. Focusing on extreme low pay is a restrictive approach. We have an opportunity now and the commission should be more ambitious. I will finish on three recommendations we have. The Government should set a goal for the elimination of low pay. The remit of the low pay commission should be expanded to become a watchdog on low pay and the low pay commission should have powers to set targets to reduce low pay across a number of policy areas.