Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Section 6 inserts a new section 10D in the National Minimum Wage Act and provides that the Minister shall, within three months of receiving a recommendation from the commission, decide whether to accept, reject or vary the recommendations of the commission for stated reasons. The provision for the Minister to make a decision on the commission’s recommendation within three months is consistent with the existing provision in the National Minimum Wage Act since it was originally enacted in 2000. It is not unreasonable to expect that the Minister would be given a reasonable amount of time to give careful consideration to the matter and, in this context, three months is not excessive.

The 2000 Act also provides that the Minister may accept, reject or vary a Labour Court recommendation on the national minimum wage. Accordingly, I do not consider it necessary to specify that a decision by a Minister in future to vary the terms of a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission needs to specify that it would be in "improved" terms. Accordingly, I cannot accept amendments Nos. 23 and 24.

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