Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Low Pay Commission is an independent body set up by the Government. The Government asked it to look at why there are so many women on the minimum wage. That report came into me last week. I will go through it briefly with the Deputy. I do not have much time but the report will be made available to the Deputy very early next week. The report highlighted the predominant issues that affect the risk of being on the minimum wage. They appear to depend on the sector in which one works and whether one works part time or full time. It is important to bear that in mind. The sector one works in and whether one is part time or full time affect the risk. It has to be noted that there are close to twice as many women as men on the national minimum wage. Between a third and a half of this imbalance is a result of caring responsibilities, the hours they work and the sectors in which they are employed. The CSO figures are very useful to us in dealing with the situation, which we will deal with. With regard to part-time work, 24% of females indicated they were on the minimum wage for the simple reason they were caring for children and adults.

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