Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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430. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the latest EUROSTAT figures regarding national minimum wage levels in the EU and Ireland's ranking; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9434/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Eurostat’s most recent published figures for monthly national minimum wages show that Ireland has the second highest national minimum wage of any country in the EU at €1,563 per month, behind only Luxembourg whose minimum wage is €1,999 per month. In some Countries the basic national minimum wage is not fixed at a monthly rate but at an hourly or weekly rate and Eurostat for comparison purposes converts Countries hourly or weekly rates into monthly rates.   These figures are also affected by currency fluctuation that exists for Countries listed that are outside the Eurozone, such as the UK, and the fact that some Countries have lower national levels of hours worked per week. Thus these Eurostat figures provide a comparison between European Countries of the monthly national minimum wage in Euros at a point in time using the Countries standard national level of hours worked per week. It should be noted that monthly national minimum wage rates are gross amounts. Income tax and social security contribution deductions vary greatly from Country to Country.

It is worth noting that disparities in minimum wages across the EU States are considerably smaller once price level differences are eliminated: minimum wages in those Member States with relatively low price levels become relatively higher when expressed in purchasing power standard, and relatively lower in those Member States with higher price levels. Ireland  minimum wage rank’s sixth highest in the EU when adjusted by the purchasing power standard.  

In Ireland, the Low Pay Commission was established in 2015 through the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015.  The Commission’s main function is to, on an annual basis, examine and make recommendations on the national minimum wage, with a view to securing that the national minimum wage, where adjusted, is adjusted incrementally over time having had regard to changes in earnings, productivity, overall competitiveness and the likely impact any adjustment will have on employment and unemployment levels. The Commission made its first recommendation in July 2015 when it recommended that the rate be increased by 50 cents per hour. That increase came into effect on 1st January 2016. The Commission’s second recommendation that the rate increase to €9.25 per hour was made in July 2016. It was subsequently accepted by Government and came into effect on 1st January last.