Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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820. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the discussions her Department has had with suppliers or service contractors to her Department or to agencies of her Department to ensure that employees of such suppliers and contractors are paid the living wage of €11.50 per hour; the cost of implementing this wage for these employees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1370/16]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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For the Deputy's information, the Living Wage is a voluntary societal initiative centred on the social, business and economic case to ensure that, wherever it can be afforded, employers will pay a rate of pay that provides an income that is sufficient to meet an individual's basic needs, such as housing, food, clothing, transport and healthcare. The Living Wage is voluntary and has no legislative basis and is therefore not a statutory entitlement and cannot be imposed on suppliers or contractors.

It differs from the National Minimum Wage which is a statutory entitlement and has a legislative basis. The Low Pay Commission was established to annually assess the appropriate level of the National Minimum Wage. The national minimum hourly rate of pay increased on January 1st 2016 following Government acceptance of the Low Pay Commission recommendation of July 2015.

Separately, wage rates and other conditions of employment are provided for in Employment Regulation Orders for the Contract Cleaning and Security sectors.