Mr. Ultan Courtney:

Yes. I would like to briefly outline the Low Pay Commission’s research activity. Primarily, in the past year, this research resulted in the publication of two reports, A Universal Basic Income for Ireland: Lessons from the International Literature, which was published last December, and Job Quality of Minimum Wage Workers in Ireland, which was published in August. We are going to have two further studies. These include a study entitled Different Approaches to Categorising Minimum Wage Workers, which will compare evidence from administrative wage data and data from the labour force survey.

In 2021, the commission awarded research bursaries for two independent pieces of research, including Low Paid Older Workers: a Quantitative and Qualitative Profile of Low Pay Among Workers Aged Over 50. In addition, in December, the Low Pay Commission published a Report on Piloting a Universal Basic Income. We also published another report on labour market concentration. We awarded four further bursaries this year on low-paid young workers; on work in the home care sector; on how organisational practices, strategies and environments shape low pay; and on the effect of national minimum wage hikes on interregional commuting and employment.

The Low Pay Commission’s research activity makes a significant contribution to the provision of more knowledge and information with regard to low pay and labour market economics in Ireland.

I am happy to take any questions members may have on the commission's work and on the recent report and recommendations.