Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

No legislation has been promised in this area. There is a programme for Government commitment to increase the statutory minimum wage. In the past five years the national minimum wage has been increased on three occasions. It has been increased by about 20% during that period, at a higher rate than the increase in wages generally. I am sure it be will increased further into the future.

The minimum wage is determined on a statutory basis by the Low Pay Commission and the Low Pay Commission considers all the empirical evidence, including input from unions, from employers, from NGOs and from advocacy groups, and takes into account a number of different things. Those include not just the cost of living, but also the potential impact on employment and displacement. As I understand it, the living wage technical group is separate. It is non-statutory and it is comprised of a number of groups, including trade unions and community and voluntary sector advocacy groups. It is based on certain assumptions-----

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