Taoiseach Brian Cowen has signalled that the examination of the national minimum wage is a matter for the Labour Court, and not for the Government as was suggested by the Minister for Finance Brian
Lenihan.
Mr Cowen today gave his first public reaction to Mr Lenihan's comments at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties that the Government may need to address the question of the minimum wage if it were shown to be an obstacle to job creation in a particular sector.
Speaking in Athlone, Co Westmeath at the opening of a new 20km stretch of the N6, Mr Cowen agreed with his Finance Minister that the national minimum wage would require examination if it did act as a barrier to job retention.
However, he departed from Mr Lenihan when he said the responsibility for addressing this issue lay with the Labour Court and not with the Government.
"People should really look at what Ministers in fact had to say about it. What they were saying was that if there were a barrier to continued job retention in particular sectors then of course there are agreed procedures where all these matters are looked at," he said.
"Of course, employers and employees can make those cases to the Labour Court. Those procedures obviously provide the basis for how we deal with those issues," added Mr Cowen.
Mr Lenihan's comments at the MacGill school earlier this week were received as a suggestion that the Government may intervene on the question of a national minimum wage.
Elsewhere, the Minister for Foreign Affairs said earlier today that there is no proposal "as of now" to cut the minimum wage but that its future should be open to discussion.
Micheál Martin said Ireland has "the second highest" minimum wage in Europe and the discussion of a variety of issues is "legitimate" in the current climate.
"Of course there is no proposal as of now on the table to cut the minimum wage, and I think what I would be concerned about is the fact that people don't even seem to be prepared to discuss anything," he told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"In the present climate discussion about a variety of issues is legitimate."
Mr Martin said the climate and conditions needed to be right if Ireland was to continue the very good record it has had over the last 20 years in bringing investment into the country, but that there had been general competitiveness issues in Ireland in recent years
“Jobs are the key issue for the economy and all of us have to be focused on the creation of jobs at all levels in all sectors and we must make absolutely sure that the conditions and environment are right to facilitate the creation of jobs.”
Mr Martin said the Cabinet was united in insuring a further €4 billion improvement in the public finances was found through public expenditure cuts, revenue raising measures and moderation of the capital programme.