Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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609. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide an update on implementation of the living wage; if it will be mandatory for public procurement contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59042/25]

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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612. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide an update on the living wage roadmap; the measures being taken to ensure compliance among public contractors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59045/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 609 and 612 together.

The Government is committed to the progression to a living wage, set at 60% of median hourly wages, during its lifetime.

In recent years, there have been significant uplifts in the National Minimum Wage - in 2024 there was an increase of 12.4% (€1.40) and in 2025, there was an increase of 6.3% (€0.80).

As part of Budget 2026, Government agreed to increase the National Minimum Wage by a further €0.65. This will bring the minimum wage to €14.15 per hour, from 1st January next year and represents an increase of 4.8%.

The Low Pay Commission has estimated that the 2024 “bite” of the minimum wage, or the National Minimum Wage as a percentage of the median wage, as 55.0% using the CSO’s Labour Force Survey data, or 58.6% using the CSO’s Structure of Earnings Statistics data.

The recent significant increases in the National Minimum Wage have been ahead of inflation and have brought about real wage increases for lower-paid workers. These increases demonstrate our commitment to the progression to a living wage.

As part of a suite of measures to bolster business resilience and support competitiveness, Government has agreed to adjust the implementation timeline for the living wage to 2029.

I fully expect the National Minimum Wage to increase in the coming years. I want to ensure that it increases in a sustainable way that does not threaten employment or competitiveness.

Government will strive to find a balance between a fair and sustainable rate for low-paid workers and one that will not have significant negative consequences for employers and competitiveness.

The progression to a living wage will continue to be advanced via incremental adjustment to the National Minimum Wage.

The National Minimum Wage provides a statutory wage floor and is the minimum hourly pay rate that must be paid to all employees, subject to limited exemptions such as younger people and apprentices.

The European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016 (SI 284/2016), provide that public 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.”

Economic operators awarded contracts by Contracting Authorities and Contracting Entities must therefore comply with their statutory obligations in relation to the payment of the National Minimum Wage.