Increase of 50 cent in hourly rate comes into effect tomorrow, January 1st
The Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash TD and the Minister for
Skills, Research and Innovation Damien English TD have welcomed the
introduction of the new rate of €9.15 for the National Minimum Wage. From
tomorrow (Friday) 1st of January, some 124,000 workers will benefit from
the increase of 50 cent in the minimum wage.
The change is the second increase to the National Minimum Wage introduced
by this Government since coming into office in 2011. One of its first acts
was to reverse a €1 per hour cut to the minimum wage introduced by the
previous Government.
As part of Budget 2016, the Government accepted Minister Nash’s proposal to
increase the minimum wage by 50 cent. This followed the first report of the
Low Pay Commission, an independent body tasked with examining the
appropriate rate of the statutory minimum wage.
Minister Nash said, “It really will be a more prosperous New Year for more
than 124,000 workers, predominantly women and young people. From tomorrow
they will see a direct increase in their pay packets as the hourly National
Minimum Wage rises to €9.15 per hour.
“The increase will mean that the minimum wage has been increased by nearly
20% during the lifetime of this Government. Alongside USC and PRSI cuts
announced in the budget a single person working full-time on the minimum
wage will see an annual boost to their income of €708 per annum or €14 a
week. While a married couple with a single income will be €911 better off
per year, or have €18 euro a week extra in their pockets.”
“It is a core belief of mine that work should always pay, and I am very
glad to be delivering a much needed pay increase to those who earn least in
society. While the increases are modest, I am determined to see everyone,
not just the better off, sharing in our economic prosperity.”
In tandem with the pay increases, employer PRSI thresholds are being
adjusted from 1st of January to ensure that an increased PRSI burden does
not fall on minimum wage employers.
Minister Nash added, “As the minister with responsibility for small and
medium sized enterprises, I am acutely aware that the rising economic tide
may not yet have reached every business. An increase in the minimum wage
without an appropriate adjustment to the employer PRSI threshold would
disproportionately damage small employers relative to their larger
competitors. We have raised the threshold by €20 to address this potential
anomaly.”
Minister English said: “A key part of the Government’s plan is for every
member of our society young and old to benefit from the economic recovery.
From tomorrow 1st January an increase of 50 cent per hour to the minimum
wage bringing it to €9.15 per hour is an important milestone of this
Government.”
“This is a good start to the New Year for many people. This government
believes that a job is the only sustainable route out of poverty. The new
rate is based on evidence conducted by the Low Pay Commission made up of
representatives from industry, workers and independent academic members and
it shows that we are now in a good economic position to sustain this
increase. The research it conducted also shows that this should not
threaten job creation. I would urge employees who are not receiving the new
minimum wage rate to contact the Workplace Relations Commission
www.workplacerelations.ie to know their employment rights.”