Minimum wage to rise to €11.30 per hour under plans expected to be approved by Cabinet

The national minimum wage is to increase to €11.30 per hour from January under plans expected to be approved by Cabinet on Wednesday.

The 80 cent increase from the current level of €10.50 is set to be brought in after a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, the Minister for Enterprise, will bring a memo to Cabinet seeking approval for the increase.

It is understood that it will kick in from January 1st 2023 to coincide with changes to USC and PRSI.

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The commission has said the minimum wage alone is not enough to compensate workers for inflation and increases in the cost-of-living and it recommends further measures to help low-paid staff. The Government has promised a cost-of-living package will be announced in the Budget later this month.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy criticised the expected increase in the minimum wage as “not enough” arguing that it “equates to a pay cut” due to inflation and an 80c increase “will not even scratch the surface of what is needed”.

His party are calling for a minimum wage of €15 per hour.

Earlier this year Mr Varadkar published proposals to phase in a Living Wage by 2026 to replace the national minimum wage.

The Living Wage will be set at 60 per cent of the median wage.

The Low Pay Commission’s annual report sets out an indicative Living Wage for 2023 of €13.10 per hour.

The intention in Government is to phase in the Living Wage between now and 2026 when it will become mandatory.

Mr Varadkar is to return to Cabinet to sign off on the Living Wage plan next month.