Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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102. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on the recent recommendation by a group (details supplied) that a living wage of €11.90 per hour is required for workers to meet their basic average outgoings; if legislation will be introduced to allow for an increase in the minimum wage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30632/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Legislation in relation to the setting of the National Minimum Wage has existed since 2000. More recently, the Low Pay Commission was established in 2015 and its primary function is, on an annual basis, to examine and make recommendations on the national minimum wage, with a view to providing for incremental adjustments which do not impact negatively on jobs or competitiveness. The Commission thus takes an evidence-based approach to its recommendations, having regard to changes in earnings, productivity, overall competitiveness and the likely impact any adjustment will have on employment and unemployment levels.

The Commission’s recommendations to date have been accepted by Government, resulting in an increase in the National Minimum Wage between January 2016 and January 2018 of over 10% (from €8.65 to €9.55 per hour). The Commission’s most recent report was published in July 2018, recommending a further increase to €9.80 per hour.

A decision by Government in relation to this recommendation will be announced in the context of Budget 2019, and a resulting increase in the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 would be effective from 1 January 2019.

The most recent figures published by Eurostat (August 2018) show that Ireland has the second highest national minimum wage of any country in the EU at €1,614 per month, behind only Luxembourg whose minimum wage is €1,999 per month (for comparison purposes Eurostat converts countries’ hourly or weekly rates into monthly rates). Allowing for purchasing power standards, Ireland drops to sixth place, but still remains in the group with the highest minimum wage rates in the EU.

It is important that Ireland’s statutory National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage concept are not conflated. 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. As a voluntary initiative, the Living Wage has no legislative basis and confers no statutory entitlement. The National Minimum Wage, on the other hand, has a legislative basis and confers a statutory entitlement on employees, and a statutory obligation on employers.

I currently have no plans to bring forward proposals regarding the Living Wage outside of the legislative based work of the Low Pay Commission. The setting of wages is a matter between employers and employees, which takes place in the context of the market, and Government does not interfere unduly in the process. More generally, this area comes within the remit of my colleague the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, through her Department’s responsibilities for industrial relations issues generally and wage-setting mechanisms such as Registered Employment Agreements (REAs), Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) and Sectoral Employment Orders (SEOs).