Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Accepting that the Government is powerless and is governed by the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 and that the national minimum wage is not yet at €12.17 per hour, which is the current rate but which will, undoubtedly, go up, given the rise in the cost of living, when the living wage working group report is published later this year, one thing the Government could do concerns the small number of public sector workers who do not receive a living wage. For a cost of approximately €1.5 million to €2 million it would be possible for the Government to bring up the hourly rate of pay of all public sector workers to reach a living wage. A small number of public sector workers do not have a living wage now and the Government could try to do something about this group. It is a small minority of workers and it would be an initiative that would be very positive.

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