Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful to the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter and the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss it. It involves a simple ask of the Government: when does it expect to receive the report of the Low Pay Commission on youth rates of the minimum wage? I ask the Minister of State to provide a clear timeline for publication of the report when he receives it.

I tabled this Commencement matter having read the transcript of the meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment last week. I was particularly concerned that the chairperson of the commission considered the estimated number of people on sub-minimum rates of youth pay to be a small number. I hope that is not a reflection of the priority given to the report by the commission. I am sure it is not a reflection of such but, as one cannot be certain from inside this House, I decided to table a Commencement matter to ascertain when the Government expects to receive the report.

The number of people affected by sub-minimum rates of pay is certainly not small. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, places it at 34,000. As Deputy Barry pointed out at the committee meeting to which I referred, if there is an estimated 150,000 people on the minimum wage, we are talking about one quarter of those workers earning below the minimum wage. As the Minister of State will be aware, those aged 16 or 17 can be paid 70% of the minimum wage, those aged 18. 80% of the rate and those aged 19, 90%. A person is not legally entitled to the minimum wage until he or she reaches the age of 20. In its pre-budget submission, the National Youth Council of Ireland, NYCI, noted that, based on a 35-hour working week, an 18-year-old will earn more than €4,000 less in a year than a 20-year-old performing the same role. The NYCI stated that sub-minimum rates are discriminatory, leave young workers open to exploitation and put many young people providing for themselves and their families in financial difficulty at a time of high costs. It also notes that Ireland is one of only four countries in the EU27 to have age-based rates in place for young workers.

When does the Government expect to receive the report on youth rates of the minimum wage? Is there a timeline for publication of the report following its receipt from the Low Pay Commission?