Sinn Féin spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Louise O’Reilly TD, has said the recommendation of the Living Wage Technical Group that the hourly living wage rate should rise to €13.85 shows just how far pay is behind the escalating cost of living.

Teachta O’Reilly said:

“The Living Wage Technical Group (LWTG) is a group supported by trade unions and charities who calculate the living wage based on the Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) formula.

“Each year the LWTG produces an evidenced based recommendation on a living wage, and this year they calculated €13.85 per hour as the minimum income necessary for a single adult in full-time employment to meet their basic needs and afford an acceptable standard of living.

“The cost-of-living crisis, especially the rising cost of rents, fuel, food, electricity, and other costs, has led the Living Wage Technical Group to recommend that the Living Wage increase to €13.85 per hour.

“Their recommendation stands in stark contrast to not just the government’s minimum wage increase of 80 cent, but to their indicative living wage of €13.10 per hour.

“The 80 cent increase in the national minimum wage was far from what was needed to ensure that work pays and did not reflect the impact of the escalating cost of living crisis on workers.

 “Sinn Féin had proposed almost twice that as part of a three-step approach to delivering a living wage in half the time the government is advocating.

“Today’s recommendation from the Living Wage Technical Group further reinforces the pay crisis affecting workers.”