Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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314. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the Government will deliver 60% of the median hourly wage as the minimum wage; the current hourly median wage in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23136/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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It is important to highlight the very real progress Government has made in raising the National Minimum Wage in recent years.

Since 2020, the National Minimum Wage has increased by 33.7%, from €10.10 to today’s rate of €13.50 an hour.

In 2024, there was a significant uplift of 12%, or €1.40 in the minimum wage, and this year the minimum wage increased by €0.80, an increase of over 6%. Both of these increases were well ahead of inflation and projected wage growth and have brought about substantial and real wage growth for the lowest paid workers in our economy.

Our current rate of €13.50 an hour means that Ireland now has the second highest minimum wage in the EU, second only to Luxembourg. When adjusted for purchasing power standards, we have the fifth highest minimum wage in the EU.

The Government wants to ensure that any further increases in the National Minimum Wage are managed in a sustainable way, and in a way that does not threaten employment or competitiveness.

That is why Government has agreed to adjust the implementation timeline for the living wage to 2029. This was done as part of a suite of measures to bolster business resilience and support competitiveness during these uncertain times.

Government is committed to the progression to a living wage during our term and is committed to promoting positive working conditions in Ireland. However, it is also important to maintain a regulatory environment that allows businesses to remain viable, and, indeed, to thrive.

The independent Low Pay Commission will continue to make annual recommendations to me on the appropriate rate of the National Minimum Wage, and Government will consider these recommendations in the context of prevailing economic conditions and as part of discussions on the budget, as we do each year.

The Commission must consider a range of statutory criteria when making its recommendations to me, including the cost of living, employment and competitiveness. I look forward to receiving the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations for the 2026 National Minimum Wage in July.

I expect that the Low Pay Commission will provide estimates of the 2025 median wage as part of these recommendations, using data recently released by the Central Statistics Office.

Last year the Commission, using the most up to date data available to them, estimated that the 2024 median wage was €22.89, using the CSO’s Labour Force Survey (LFS). Using the CSO’s Structure of Earnings Survey (SES), the Low Pay Commission estimated a median hourly wage for 2024 of €21.35.