THE MINIMUM WAGE will rise from €8.65 to €9.15 per hour. This increase will kick in from 1 January.
This brings the minimum wage in line with the Low Pay Commission’s recommendation to increase the National Minimum Wage by 50 cent an hour.
A single person on minimum wage will gain €708, a wage increase of 7.82%.
Flagging his intention to make this change as far back as July, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said “work should pay more than welfare”.
Business groups may not welcome today’s announcement, who have been critical of the move in the past.
During the summer months, ISME stated there is no justifiable economic argument for imposing a 6% increase on SMEs when inflation is practically zero.
Meanwhile the Small Firms Association called on the government to reject the proposals, and freeze the minimum wage for the next three years.
Following today’s announcement, Ibec said more should have been done to off-set the cost of the minimum wage increase for small business by reducing PRSI.
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