Noel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael)
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91. To ask the Taoiseach the ratio of workers here earning below the minimum wage or at the minimum wage compares to other EU countries. [21234/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available.

The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) is the official source of estimates of employment (ILO) in the State and this is the best source of information on the ratio of workers earning the National Minimum Wage or less as this survey covers all employees. The most recent figures available are for Q4 2016 when the proportion of employees aged 15 years and over reporting earning the National Minimum Wage or less in the State was 8.6% (134,500).

The CSO introduced a new series of questions to the QNHS in Q2 2016 to facilitate the production of these new estimates to meet the needs of the Low Pay Commission. There are no comparable estimates of the ratio of workers earning the National Minimum Wage or less for other EU countries as the regulation governing the operation of the Labour Force Survey (implemented in Ireland using the QNHS) does not include a requirement to collect such estimates.