Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Senator White can be reassured that I addressed the Clerys issue in response to a Commencement matter tabled by Senator Cullinane this morning.

Section 5 of the Bill sets out a very comprehensive and demanding set of factors that the commission must take into account in any year in coming to a recommendation on the appropriate rate of the national minimum wage. These reflect those contained in the principal Act from 2000, with significant additions such as changes in income distribution during the relevant period and changes in productivity.

Amendments Nos. 4 to 11 provide for the addition of a wide range of factors that the commission would be required to take into account when making a recommendation. I wish to thank the Senators, particularly Senators Cullinane and Zappone, for the thought they have given these additional factors which they wish to be considered. However, to add further to the wide-ranging list of factors to be taken into account, as set out in amendments 4 to 11, would, in my view, lead to a position whereby the commission could not possibly undertake the level of analysis required and would find it difficult to produce an agreed recommendation or, perhaps, any recommendation at all, by a set date on an annual basis. I gave significant consideration to these criteria with Government colleagues when we were drafting the Bill; many of the criteria have stood the test of time in that they were previously incorporated in national minimum wage legislation dating back to 2000. Some of the additional factors proposed, for example issues surrounding decent work, are part of my wider decent work agenda, including the issue of zero-hour and low-hour contracts, reform of collective bargaining legislation, the reintroduction of a system of registered employment agreements and a new mechanism providing for sectoral employment orders.

Previous references to changes in earnings have served us well and I do not consider it necessary to refer specifically to median earnings changes or proportions above or below particular proportions of median earnings. There is significant expertise available to the commission on properly interpreting changes in earnings data.

I have spoken in the past of my support for the development of the concept of a living wage, but I must differentiate between the application of a mandatory national minimum wage and a societal movement that would see employers volunteer and be proud to pay what might be considered a living wage. I said last week in the House that I will be hosting a forum on the living wage with employers, trade unions and civil society actors in the autumn to further explore how this concept might be applied in an Irish context.

Regarding comparisons with Northern Ireland or any other jurisdiction which has a national minimum wage, it is fair to say that these are compared not only by looking at the absolute values but also by having regard to purchasing power parity. Again, I believe the commission has sufficient expertise available to it to make these distinctions. It would not be appropriate to specifically require the commission, on an annual basis, to analyse different welfare supports, health care provisions, child care and social housing across different jurisdictions. I have every confidence that the commission will be mindful of these factors.

On the issue of high-quality job creation, on Committee Stage of this Bill, Senator Zappone expressed concern that the reference in the Bill to the need for job creation could be interpreted to imply a potential trade-off between job creation and fair wages. That is not how I see it. I fully agree with her that fair wages should never be sacrificed for the creation of jobs that are exploitative or unsustainable. That is why the Bill provides, at section 4, very clear objectives for the national minimum wage. The commission will be obliged to ensure that any recommendations it makes should ensure that the minimum wage will be set at a rate that is both fair and sustainable.

On the promotion of gender equality, it is important to note that the national minimum wage applies to all workers, irrespective of gender. We had a comprehensive discussion on this on Committee Stage and the matter was also referred to on Second Stage. A national minimum wage is the epitome of a measure that eliminates gender inequality in its application. However, as minimum wage workers tend to be predominantly female, by its very nature a national minimum wage is more beneficial to female workers.

It is important to recall that the comprehensive list of factors required to be taken into account is essentially the same as that in the current National Minimum Wage Act. These factors have already stood the test of time since 2000, when the national minimum wage was introduced. Accordingly, I cannot accept amendments Nos. 4 to 11.