Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Section 4 sets out very clear objectives. The national minimum wage should be designed to assist as many low paid workers as is reasonably practicable; should be set at a rate that is both fair and sustainable and, where adjustment is appropriate, adjusted incrementally and over time progressively increased, without creating significant adverse consequences for employment or competitiveness. I have no hesitation in stating yet again what I have said publicly time and again in this House and in other fora. I want to see the national minimum wage progressively increased where the economic and social circumstances and the conditions and demands of job creation converge. I want to see better working conditions for people and improved pay, particularly for low-paid workers. The Low Pay Commission can and will assist in providing an important institutional framework to ensure this happens. The objective of ensuring workers are entitled to just and favourable remuneration is clearly built into the criteria that will guide the commission in making a recommendation to me on the appropriate level of the national minimum wage. Therefore, I cannot accept the amendment.