Speaking on the eve of the increase to the minimum wage by 65 cents to €14.15 an hour, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Owen Reidy said:
“If Government hadn’t reneged on their commitment to reach a living wage on 1st January 2026, the minimum wage would be increasing by 95 cents instead of 65 cents tomorrow.
“Adding on another three-year wait for a living wage until January 2029 leaves over 200,000 of the lowest paid workers, who will have worked day and night to keep services running over Christmas week, up to €600 out of pocket in 2026 alone. While at the same time, the biggest minimum wage employer, the hospitality industry gets to pocket a €681 million in VAT handout each year.
“Coming out of the pandemic, Government committed to move to benchmarking the minimum wage to wages across the economy in 2026, to make up for years of no or low increases and to prevent wage stagnation in the future. But, within days of returning to power, they watered down their commitment by pushing out the timeline to 2029.
“Where business is struggling, any State support should be evidence-based, targeted and time limited. Instead, Government has left minimum wage workers to pay a hefty price for reducing business costs.”
Mr Reidy added: “The Low Pay Commission unanimously recommended Government keep their decision to delay the living wage until 2029 under constant review.”
