Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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717. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide a clear timeline for the implementation of the objectives of the EU directive on minimum wages with respect to the public procurement and tendering process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19809/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the European Union was adopted by the Commission in October 2020 and was transposed in Ireland via the Statutory Instrument S.I. No. 633/2024 - European Union (Adequate Minimum Wages) Regulations 2024, meeting the deadline of the 15th November 2024.

The Directive aims to ensure that workers across the European Union are protected by adequate minimum wages allowing for a decent living wherever they work.

Article 9 of the Directive relates to public procurement and states that:

‘In accordance with Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU, Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, in the awarding and performance of public procurement or concession contracts, economic operators and their subcontractors comply with the applicable obligations regarding wages, the right to organise and collective bargaining on wage-setting, in the field of social and labour law established by Union law, national law, collective agreements or international social and labour law provisions, including ILO Freedom of Association and the Protection of the Right to Organise Convention No 87 (1948) and ILO Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention No 98 (1949).’

This is already given effect in Ireland by the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 (SI 284/2016), Chapter 2, Regulations 18-20, most particularly Regulation 18, paragraph 4.

Regulation 18 provides that contracting authorities must comply with “applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law...that have been established by European Union law, national law, collective agreements or by international, environmental, social and labour law.” Indeed, some of the text of Article 9 of the ‘Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages’ is verbatim repeating the text of Directive 2014/24/EU, which SI 284/2016 transposes.

Further, Schedule 7 of these Regulations, referenced in Regulation 18(4)(a) lists a number of international, social and environmental conventions which include the ILO Freedom of Association and the Protection of the Right to Organise Convention No 87 (1948) (see schedule 7 (a) and ILO Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention No 98 (1949).

In addition, our Programme for Government commits to the development of an Action Plan to promote collective bargaining as required by Article 4 of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages.

The deadline for the Action Plan to be submitted to the Commission is the end of 2025. An update on the preparation of Ireland’s Action Plan on the Promotion of Collective Bargaining was given at the LEEF earlier this month, where it was noted that a public consultation on the action plan would be launched.

My Department has launched the Public Consultation to gather views on the content of Ireland’s Action Plan on the promotion of Collective Bargaining. Respondents can make submissions via the online form and the closing date is COB 12 May 2025.