Minister Regina Doherty receives the Low Pay Commission’s Recommendation on the National Minimum Wage

In its report submitted to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty TD, the Low Pay Commission sets out the range of data it has considered in recommending the rate for the National Minimum Wage for 2019. The Commission also consulted widely, receiving submissions from interested parties and meeting directly with workers on the minimum wage and employers in relevant economic sectors.

Minister Doherty has welcomed the Low Pay Commission’s report stating, “I am delighted to receive my first Low Pay Commission recommendation on the national minimum wage as the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. This is the first year that the LPC has reached unanimous agreement on the rate of the national minimum wage, and I welcome this unanimity.”

Minister Doherty welcomed the detailed analysis involved in producing the 2018 report, which highlighted strong growth in the economy and the fact that growth has now spread across the country as a whole. She noted also the Commission’s reference to the uncertainty regarding the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, and the potential impact that any eventual decisions in that regard might have on the Irish economy.

Minister Doherty said “I brought the report and recommendations of the Low Pay Commission to my colleagues in Government earlier today. Over the coming weeks my colleagues and I will be considering it carefully in the context of planning for Budget 2019. The report recommends changes to employer PRSI and measures to enhance compliance, and these aspects also require examination.”

The Minister also took the opportunity, as the first term in office of the Commission comes to a close, to thank the members for their valuable work on the Commission over the last three years.

The Chairman of the Commission, Dr Donal de Buitléir, said “I was particularly pleased for this fourth report of the Commission that there was a full consensus amongst the members on our recommendations, and that the rate for the National Minimum Wage was unanimously recommended. This year too, we had a strong engagement through our consultation process with individuals working minimum wage jobs, as well as representative groups, and I thank all those who generously gave of their time and contributed to the process.”

Notes for Editor

The Low Pay Commission Report is available here.

The membership of the Low Pay Commission is:

• Dr Donal de Buitléir – Chairperson – former Director of PublicPolicy.ie
• Vincent Jennings – CEO Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association
• Patricia King - General Secretary of ICTU
• Gerry Light - Assistant General Secretary, Mandate Trade Union
• Caroline McEnery Director - The HR Suite; HR & Business Solutions
• Edel McGinley - Director, Migrant Rights Centre Ireland
• Mary Mosse – Former lecturer in Economics, School of Business, Waterford Institute of Technology
• Tom Noonan – former Chief Executive, The Maxol Group, former President of Ibec, 2008–2010
• Prof Donal O’Neill - Dept. of Economics, Finance & Accountancy, NUI, Maynooth

The Commissioners examined a range of social, economic and labour market issues in considering the appropriate rate of the national minimum wage, including:

• the changes in earnings since the minimum wage was last increased
• changes in currency exchange rates
• changes in income distribution during the relevant period
• the unemployment and employment rates generally
• international comparisons, particularly with Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• the need for job creation
• the likely effect that any proposed increase would have on levels of employment and unemployment, the cost of living and national competitiveness

In its conclusions the Commission notes the following issues in particular:

• strong increases in employment have taken place and economic predictions indicate that Ireland will reach close to full employment in 2019
• commissioned research that indicates that previous minimum wage increases recommended by the LPC had little effect on employment, while reducing wage inequality
• the Irish economy has experienced a strong recovery, including growth in domestic demand and personal consumption
• growth which was initially focused on Dublin has now spread to all other regions of the country
• neither the possibility of a “hard” Brexit in which the United Kingdom leaves the European Union without a deal being put in place or under world trade organisation tariffs, nor the possibility of a transitional arrangement in which the status quo will more or less continue to apply, can be discounted
• average weekly and hourly earnings increased across most sectors in 2017
• the cost of housing, childcare and transportation continue to be significant issues for minimum wage and low pay workers -these issues however cannot be resolved by NMW increases alone
• inflation remains low