Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil believes that the Government should examine employer PRSI for those on low pay and consider giving businesses compliant with the national minimum wage increased incentives such as temporary PRSI reductions. In the UK, employers have been given a reduction in their social security contributions through the recent increases in the apprentice national minimum wage rate. The National Competitiveness Council, NCC, of which I am a fan, made a number of recommendations on labour cost competitiveness in its 2014 annual report. It stated that the Irish low pay commission should consider enhancing "labour cost competitiveness through reform of income taxes, changes to the PRSI structure for lower paid workers..." These are the other ways of increasing the standard of living for low-paid workers.