Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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584.To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the cost of immediately raising the minimum wage to a living wage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33138/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, in 2021 the Low Pay Commission was asked to examine the programme for Government commitment to progress to a living wage and provide recommendations on how best to achieve this commitment.

The Low Pay Commission’s recommendations were received and considered and in November 2022, Government agreed that a national living wage would be introduced and set at 60% of hourly median wages, in line with the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission. The Government announced that this would be achieved by incremental adjustment to the National Minimum Wage.

The introduction of a Living Wage is an important step Government is taking towards eradicating low-wage employment for all workers.

The first step towards reaching a Living Wage was the 80 cent increase to the national minimum wage from 1 January 2023 to €11.30 per hour. This was followed with the significant 12.4% increase of €1.40 to the national minimum wage which came into force on 1 January 2024 and increased the minimum wage to €12.70 per hour.

The Low Pay Commission has estimated that the minimum wage in 2022 was 50.9% of the median hourly wage, increasing to 51.8% in 2023. The commission estimated that the €1.40 increase in the 2024 national minimum wage brought the minimum wage to 55.1% of median hourly wages.

In their 2023 annual report the Low Pay Commission estimated that the indicative National Minimum Wage for 2024 would be €13.82 per hour.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has informed me that in Q1 2024 there were 190,300 employees who reported that they earned the national minimum wage, with a further 45,700 reporting that they earned less than the National Minimum Wage of €12.70.

It is not possible to estimate the number of workers who would be in receipt of a National Minimum Wage. Changes in the composition of minimum wage employment is contingent on the future development of the labour market and any further changes in the National Minimum Wage.

The Low Pay Commission will continue to make annual recommendations on the appropriate rate of the National Minimum Wage and the increases required so that the minimum wage will reach the target of 60% of hourly median wages. Their recommendation on the 2025 National Minimum Wage was submitted to me last week. A Government decision on their recommendation will be made and announced later in the year.