Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There are two separate things here. The review of the operating model will be completed by the end of this year and I will come back to the Deputy with a specific date on that.

On the living wage, a joint labour committee, JLC, has been set up, bringing together employees, employee representatives and employers. They have put forward a proposal on that entry grade pay of €13 per hour and that is out for consultation at the moment. My understanding that there are further negotiations ongoing about higher rates for a greater degree of experience, such as for graduate staff etc.

A JLC process is obviously independent of Government and I do not have control over that but we have indicated core funding to support the outcome of a JLC and this funding will kick in from September, assuming that we have that agreement on better rates of pay.

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