Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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7. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when he will receive a report from the Low Pay Commission following his request that it review the impact of the minimum wage on young persons and women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2083/16]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The Low Pay Commission was established last year through the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015. Its remit is to make recommendations to me regarding the national minimum hourly rate of pay, ensuring that all decisions are evidence based, fair and sustainable and do not create significant adverse consequences for employment or competitiveness. The Low Pay Commission also has other functions. For example, the Act allows me to request the commission to examine and report its views and recommendations on matters related generally to its functions under the Act.

In this context and in order to obtain a better understanding of the impact of the national minimum wage on younger people, I requested the commission to examine the appropriateness of the sub minimarates as provided for in the National Minimum Wage Acts, with particular regard to their impact on youth unemployment rates and participation in education. This report is due by 29 February.

Given the preponderance of women on the national minimum wage, as highlighted in the commission’s report in July last year, in order to obtain a better understanding of the composition and profile of this group and the underlying causality, I also requested the commission to examine this issue in more detail and report its views on the underlying reason for this position and make recommendations it considered appropriate. These recommendations are due to be presented by 31 October this year.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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I look forward to that happening. Does the Minister of State agree that the prevalence of low pay among women and young people speaks against it being in any way an equal recovery or a recovery for ordinary people? Does the Government and the Labour Party, in particular, consider it to be a source of embarrassment that two thirds of low-paid workers are women, that 50% of women earn less than €20,000 per year and that the highest levels of growth in precarious work are in areas dominated by female workers such as the retail sector? The incidence of low pay among the under-30s is around 40%, on average, while teenagers receive 70% of the adult minimum wage rate. Does the Government consider this to be a source of embarrassment and is it concerned about it? Is it going to introduce a minimum wage that is a living wage on which people will be able to survive?

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The reason I asked the Low Pay Commission to examine these areas in the first place was that we wanted to make sure there was full, active participation in the workforce and that people were treated appropriately. The commission's figures revealed that about two thirds of those on the national minimum wage were women. We want to look under the bonnet to see why that is the case. For example, as a Government, we want to ensure full participation in the workforce by all sections of society. There are underlying reasons for the preponderance of women in certain sectors of the economy. There are issues to do with access to child care, caring duties and responsibilities, the bulk of which, whether we like it, are still taken on by women. We want to address these issues. That is why we, as a Government, are addressing issues to do with child care and want to introduce better child care facilities for families to encourage more people to participate in the workforce. I am looking forward to receiving the reports. I asked the Low Pay Commission specifically to examine these two areas because they are of interest to me in terms of the widest possible participation in the workforce.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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Does the Minister of State agree that we live in a low-wage economy? Was it the Government's intention to create a low-wage economy, where 20% of workers would be classified as living in deprivation, where one third of one-income households would be deprived, where many people affected by the housing crisis and suffering from homelessness would be employed and yet could not afford appropriate accommodation or shelter? The low-wage economy hits young people and women the hardest. Further investigation will reveal that child care responsibilities are an important aspect of the reason women are pushed into lower paid and less secure, more precarious sectors of employment. What is the Government actually going to do about this, as opposed to Labour Party election promises? The party has been in government for five years. Is there not a need for publicly funded child care provision that is free at the point of use? Does the Government agree that what we need is a minimum wage that is at least a living wage, as that would make a significant difference to the lives of about one in four workers?

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The difference between the Deputy and the Labour Party is that he talks about all of these issues and we take action to address them. That is the fundamental difference. We provide the solutions.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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Promises.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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The Deputy is quite good at identifying some of the problems, but he does not take a solutions-based approach to the economic and social challenges. That is unfortunate, but we do and we have had some success in doing so. I do not agree with his depiction of the economy as a low-wage economy in general. The evidence does not suggest it is. Living standards are improving; the level of disposable income is improving, as are wage levels across the economy. We are playing our role in improving wage levels across the economy, through an increase in the national minimum wage from 1 January this year which will apply to about 124,000 workers. That is a very significant contribution, with, as I mentioned, the signing of employment regulation orders which apply to 55,000 workers in contract cleaning and security services. We are legislating and regulating to make sure the least well-off in society, those who work hard, will see an uplift in their living standards. We are doing what we can from a legislative point of view to make sure that will be the case and the economic recovery will hit not just every region in the country but every household. That is our job.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Paul Murphy who is doing very well today also submitted Question No. 8.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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I am going to play the lotto later.