Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if a trial of a basic income model will be supported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18558/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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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 Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to conduct technical background research on issues affecting the introduction of universal basic income and how a pilot might be designed for Ireland. This research was commissioned under the terms of the Low Pay Commission / ESRI Research Partnership Agreement. This partnership delivers high quality research regarding issues impacting on the National Minimum Wage and low pay in Ireland.

The research 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 Low Pay Commission intends to provide a report to me on this research and its recommendations later during Q2 2022.