Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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101. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated cost of introducing a living wage of €12.90 per hour for all workers in the Civil Service; the estimated cost of introducing a living wage of €12.90 per hour for all workers in the public service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21433/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is important that Ireland’s statutory National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage concept are not confused. The Living Wage has no legislative basis and is therefore not a statutory entitlement. It currently stands at €12.90 per hour according to the Living Wage Technical Group document 2021.

The National Minimum Wage is a statutory entitlement and has a legislative basis. The Low Pay Commission annually assesses the appropriate level of the National Minimum Wage. The current national minimum hourly rate of pay, since 1 January 2022, is €10.50 per hour, as set out in the National Minimum Wage Order 2021. All civil servants are paid at rates above the National Minimum Wage.

The suggested Living Wage at €12.90 per hour based on the Civil Service 37 hour standard net working week equates to an annual salary of €24,905.50. Detailed data on civil service staff indicates that only 0.1% of staff (FTE) in the civil service are on salary points less than the suggested Living Wage.

Those currently on an annual salary of less than €24,905.50 may be receiving remuneration in excess of the suggested living wage through additional premium payments in respect of shift work or atypical working hours. In addition, these salary scales progress to the suggested Living Wage and above through normal incremental progression.

The current public service agreement is Building Momentum - A New Public Service Agreement 2021-2022. This Agreement is weighted towards those at lower incomes with headline increases of approximately 5% for the lowest paid public servants. The Agreement provides for the following pay adjustments:

- A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 1% or €500, whichever is greater, on 1 October 2021.

- The equivalent of a 1% increase in annualised basic salaries to be used as a Sectoral Bargaining Fund, in accordance with Chapter 2 of the Agreement, on 1 February 2022.

- A general round increase in annualised basic salaries for all public servants of 1% or €500, whichever is greater on, 1 October 2022.

These groups will also benefit more from other measures in the Agreement including the overtime rates and premia payment adjustments.

The public service information sought in this request would require detailed data on the position of staff on each salary scale across the public service and details of the standard working hours per week for each individual grade. This data is not held in my Department.