Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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33. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment further to Parliamentary Question No. 13 of 2 November 2021, if he has received the report by the Low Pay Commission and the ESRI of a universal basic income; when he expects the report to be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6883/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the programme for Government includes a commitment to "request the Low Pay Commission to examine universal basic income, informed by a review of previous international pilots, and resulting in a universal basic income pilot in the lifetime of the Government". Last year, I formally requested that the Low Pay Commission examine this issue.

To inform its considerations, the Low Pay Commission asked the ESRI to conduct background technical research on a universal basic income under the terms of the Low Pay Commission-ESRI research partnership agreement. The study will examine the universal basic income pilots that have taken place in other jurisdictions to identify what was learned and what might be relevant to a pilot in Ireland. It will also seek to identify which policy objectives a universal basic income pilot could address and its associated risks and financial implications. It will conclude with recommendations on how a pilot in Ireland might be designed and run.

The ESRI is currently finalising its report and the Low Pay Commission intends to provide a report to me on this research and its recommendations in Q2 2022. I expect to be able to publish both the ESRI report and the LPC's report shortly after that.