Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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58. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated cost of introducing a living wage set at €14.80 per hour for public and civil service workers. [24137/24]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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In relation to the civil service, for which my Department holds detailed data, the suggested Living Wage at €14.80 per hour based on the civil service 35 hour standard net working week equates to an annual salary of approximately €27,029. Detailed data on civil service staff indicates that approximately 0.2% of staff (FTE) in the civil service are on salary points less than the suggested Living Wage. It is expected that this number will reduce significantly on implementation of the next pay adjustment of 1% due on June 1 2024 under the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026.

Those currently on an annual salary of less than €27,029 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 Public Service Agreement 2024-2026. In total, the Agreement provides for increases of 10.25% over a two and a half year period. This is made up of general round increases totalling 9.25%, as well as a provision for a Local Bargaining mechanism equivalent to 1% of the basic pay cost. Over the lifetime of the agreement, the lowest paid public servants will see cumulative benefits of up to 17.3%, inclusive of the local bargaining provision. Those earning less than €27,029 per annum will benefit from the measures targeted at lower paid public servants.

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.