Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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16. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress that has been made on the Programme for Government commitment to advance a living wage over the lifetime of the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7044/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I have spoken before about how the pandemic has caused many of us to reconsider and re-evaluate what an essential worker is. We now understand that it is a much broader group of workers than people would have originally described, many of whom are on low pay and in the private sector.

The Government has been clear that a legacy of the pandemic must be better pay, terms and conditions for everyone, but particularly for those on low pay. We are committed, therefore, to honouring the Government commitment to progressing to a living wage over the lifetime of this Government. In doing so, we need to recognise that many businesses have been badly affected by the pandemic and are struggling to pay existing wages. We need to make sure that we proceed in a way that does not cause jobs to be lost in terms of the numbers of people employed, or would see employees having their hours cut. To do so would be counterproductive.

In 2021, I asked the Low Pay Commission to examine the Programme for Government commitment to progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government and to make recommendations on the best approach to achieving this commitment.

Following this request, the Low Pay Commission commissioned a team of researchers at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth to conduct research on the living wage.

This research was to consider the policy, social and economic implications of a move to a living wage and the process by which Ireland could progress towards it. The research was to examine international evidence on living wages, examining different calculation methods, examining the policy implications and outlining options for moving to a living wage in Ireland.

I understand that in January of this year, the Low Pay Commission received the Living Wage supporting research report from the researchers at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth. The Low Pay Commission is currently evaluating this research. The Commission is meeting with experts and stakeholders in this area, such as the Eurofound, the UK Low Pay Commission, business and employer representatives and representatives of the Living Wage Technical Group.

I expect to receive the Low Pay Commission’s report and recommendations when the analysis is complete and I expect that to be next month. The Government will respond to these recommendations in due course and we will publish the Commission's report, and the associated supporting research.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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17. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of the Programme for Government commitment to promote higher female labour market participation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7022/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government committed to promoting higher female labour market participation, as well as less commuting and greater regional balance, through increased remote, flexible and hub-working arrangements, to support families in their parenting and childcare choices.

According to the latest available data from the Central Statistics Office’s Labour Force Survey, female labour force participation is at a record high. This is in the context of a significant labour market recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which started in Q2 2021.

In Q3 2021, the female participation rate stood at 60.1 percent, a 5 percent increase on Q3 2020, and a 3.8 percent increase over Q3 2019. The female participation rate has grown significantly more than the male rate since Q3 2019, just prior to the pandemic, closing the gender gap in the workforce. The male rate has increased by 1.3 percentage points during this time, to 69.8 percent.

The number of women in the labour force is now 105,000 higher than in Q3 2019, compared with growth in the male labour force of 60,500. The total number of women in the labour force is now over 1.2 million, of which 1.16 million are in employment, with women representing 46.8 percent of the labour force.

As well as continued funding increases for early learning and childcare, Making Remote Work,Ireland’s National Remote Work strategy, seeks to address obstacles to labour market inclusion, and female participation in particular, due to the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work undertaken by women. It is enabling improved access to the workplace through greater flexibility in terms of time management, childcare and commuting options.

The Government’s labour market activation strategy Pathways to Work 2021-2025is also working to support greater female labour market participation. Its commitments include development and implementation of a new ‘Returners’ programme, to help integrate those who left or have been outside the workforce for some time, increasing the number of children in receipt of State supports for Early Learning and Care and School Age Funding Programmes, and ensuring that the particular circumstances of lone parents are considered in the assessment of a Working Age Payment.