Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy alluded in his opening remarks to the fact that he has a Private Members' Bill on this issue. I draw the Deputy's attention to the line in the Low Pay Commission recommendation that states that sub-minimum rates should not be abolished before 1 January 2025. The reason for that is that the Low Pay Commission asked the Government to consider the report and its recommendations to ensure all decisions are evidence-based and to get legal advice on this. They are the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission on this and that is what the Government is doing.

We are looking at all of its recommendations, including abolition of it, but we are also looking at the recommendations that tell us get legal advice and study this in depth. That is why we commissioned an economic impact assessment. It is important to note that only approximately one quarter of those aged under 19 who could legally be paid the sub-minimum youth rates actually are being paid those rates. Therefore, 75% of people under the age of 19 are on the national minimum wage or above, and 80% of those who are not on it are students. As the Deputy said, many of those people do work in industries that are vulnerable. However, one thing I do not want to do is inadvertently create a situation whereby the people working in those industries have their hours reduced.

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