Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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137. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will introduce legislative provisions to put the proposed living wage on a statutory basis. [8760/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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A primary function of the social welfare system in relation to persons of working age is to support those persons and their families where they have lost or are unable to attain employment. Consistent with this role the system, most notably via jobseeker’s schemes supports to part-time work under the family income supplement scheme, the system also helps persons to attain and maintain a foothold in the labour market, subject to income tests and other criteria.

Supports of this nature help to ensure that people are better off in work and help them to build a more secure future for their families but are delivered at a considerable cost to the Exchequer.

In the context of current fiscal pressures and the urgent need to help more people back to work, I have advocated further debate on the potential role of a living wage as part of the suite of measures designed to support persons with low work income. Conceptually a living wage would be higher than the national minimum wage and would provide the income necessary to meet basic needs without the need for substantial recourse to the welfare system.

The statutory responsibility in relation to the terms and conditions of employment are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.