Low Pay Commission will ensure workers take home ‘decent’ wage

Brendan Howlin speaks ahead of Cabinet discussion on minimum wage

Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin has said the Low Pay Commission being discussed at Cabinet on Wednesday will ensure workers take home a "decent" wage.

The commission will be set with the task of advising the Government annually on the rate of the national minimum wage and is due to be chaired by former AIB banker Dr Donal de Buitléir.

Super-junior minister Ged Nash is expected to lead discussion of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Bill at Cabinet. Speaking on his way into the Cabinet meeting, Mr Howlin said it was an important development.

“The Low Pay Commission I think is a very important initiative. We said from the very start of this administration that the restoration of full employment is at the core of all our economic policies,” he said.

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“But it’s not simply having everybody at work. It is having everybody with quality work. And the Low Pay Commission is an important part to ensure that people who go out everyday to work enjoy a decent wage for it.”

Mary Minihan

Mary Minihan

Mary Minihan is Features Editor of The Irish Times