LAST UPDATE | 13 Sep 2022

THE GOVERNMENT IS set to approve an 80 cent rise in the minimum wage this week, it is understood.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar is set to bring a memo to Cabinet tomorrow on the minimum wage, which is being proposed to rise to €11.30 an hour.

It’s understood that the proposed increase would take place from 1 January 2023, alongside changes to PRSI and USC.

The current minimum wage is €10.50 an hour and was previously increased by 30 cent.

However, there have been some calls from the opposition and trade unions for a further increase in the minimum wage.

It comes after the Low Pay Commission recommended that the minimum wage be increased, with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar telling The Journal that an increase in the minimum wage was needed.

“I think what we’ll need is an increase in the minimum wage, you know, even separate from the phasing in of the living wage. There will have to be an increase in the minimum wage,” Varadkar said in August.

“I think it is needed, because the cost of living has gone up by a lot. And we know those most affected are those in lowest income.”

It’s understood that Varadkar will also recommend an increase to the living wage to €13.10 in 2023, following recommendations from the Low Pay Commission.

The living wage is currently €12.17 an hour.

Currently, the Government plans to phase in the living wage by 2026, which will coincide with plans to scrap the minimum wage.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has criticised the Government over the 80 cent rise, saying that it isn’t enough and has called for the minimum wage to rise to €15 an hour.

“Low paid workers in this country are being hammered by the ever increasing cost of living and inflation crisis. If the government really wanted to help these low paid workers, they would introduce a minimum wage of €15 per hour,” said Murphy.

“The increase of 0.80c is an insult to people and will not even scratch the surface of what is needed. This will be an effective pay cut for people.”

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) have also raised concerns about the proposed increase, saying that its two nominees on the Low Pay Commission opposed the recommendation, calling it “inadequate”.

A spokesperson for ICTU said: “The recommended 80c increase fails the test of protecting the living standards of those on the lowest wage and fails the test of setting a sustainable foundation for progressing to a living wage.”

“It is within the gift of the Government to go beyond what the Commission has recommended and we urge them to do so.”