Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that the PRSI threshold has also been increased. The amendment put forward by myself and Deputy Penrose had a particular objective, which the Minister's amendment appears to achieve.

When is it intended to increase the minimum wage? The Minister said she would do so as soon as practicable. However, I thought it was the Government's intention to bring the increase to the minimum wage into force on 1 January 2020, after the British general election. The Minister will agree that the danger of a crash-out Brexit has eroded. If the Conservative Party wins the election in the UK, then presumably the Brexit deal agreed by Boris Johnson will be passed. If the Labour Party or a combination of other parties come into office, there is the possibility of another referendum, which might, hopefully, take Brexit off the table completely. Can the Minister be more specific about when she intends to trigger this increase, which has been recommended by the Low Pay Commission?

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