Taoiseach promises to introduce living wage in Ireland; workers will be guaranteed a living income

DUBLIN: Taoiseach Micheál Martin has promised to ensure a living wage for ordinary Irish workers at the bottom of society. The Taoiseach has promised to make the living wage a reality within the tenure of his government.

The Government is now examining all levels of working conditions for low-paid workers in order to enforce this. Mr. Martin added that the ultimate goal of his government is to implement the living wage. Therefore, the working conditions for low paid workers will be examined and security for their income in the future will be ensured, he said.

The Taoiseach added that the proposed public sector wage agreement is targeted at low-paid public service employees.

“There was a recent study which showed that even because of, from 2000 onwards, there was a dramatic impact in reducing income inequality in Ireland which was counterintuitive to what was happening in other parts of the globe but we have to keep at it,” said Martin. However, he said that Ireland remains better than other countries in terms of income equality.

Living wage is a fixed amount required to ensure a better standard of living in each country. In Ireland, the minimum living wage is found to be €12.30 per hour. But currently the minimum wage is only €10.10 per hour.

Martin criticises climate activists

Taoiseach questioned climate activists who do not support the introduction of the carbon tax.

“We took the decision in opposition to support the carbon tax, it’s not popular with everybody, we’ve been consistent in following that through in government. By raising funds through carbon tax, the government can undertake projects such as retrofitting.

In the 2021 budget, the Government increased the carbon tax by €7.50. It rose from €26 per tonne to €33.50 per tonne. This currently only applies to auto fuels, but the Taoiseach said that this will also apply to solid fuels from May 2021 onwards.