Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Public procurement procedures require applicants to meet certain standards when applying for public contracts, including declaring whether they have breached aspects of employment law. All public works projects that are delivered under the Exchequer-funded element of the Government's capital plan must be procured in accordance with the provisions laid down in the capital works management framework, CWMF. The suite of public works contracts, which is a key component of the CWMF, contains a detailed set of provisions on rates of pay and conditions of employment for all those engaged in the construction phase regardless of whether they are employed by the contractor or its subcontractors. Where these detailed provisions are not met, the contracting authority may withhold payment, make deductions from payments due and, ultimately, terminate the contract where evidence of a serious breach exists that cannot be remedied by the other means provided.

A sectoral employment order, SEO, fixes the statutory minimum rates of pay and other conditions, for example, sick pay and pension entitlements, for persons employed in a given economic sector. An employer in that sector has a legal duty to comply, at a minimum, with those terms. The 2021 SEO for the construction sector came into effect on 1 February of this year. It sets the statutory minimum rates of pay and other conditions, for example, sick pay and pension entitlements, for people employed in the construction sector. The lowest hourly rate of pay in the SEO stands at €14.93 per hour for new entrant general operatives. Apprentices' rates of pay are expressed as percentages of the craftsperson's rate, commencing at €6.84 per hour in their first year and rising to €18.47 per hour in their fourth year.

While the public works contract provides immediate remedies to evidenced breaches of employment law, the enforcement of employment law is ultimately a matter for the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC.

Regarding the inclusion of a living wage on public contracts, there is no current legal basis in Irish law or national agreements to make this a requirement on suppliers wishing to engage in public tendering. Wage rates which have a legal underpinning of course apply to all contracts, public and private. Additionally, at EU level, any attempt to try to set wage rates through public procurement is likely to be viewed as discriminatory and in breach of the EU treaty principles and the procurement directive.

I note, however, that my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Varadkar, outlined in June 2022 proposals to introduce a living wage for every employee in Ireland, starting from next year and to be fully phased in by 2026, when it will be mandatory for all workers.

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