31st December 2015
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.”
ENDS
For more information contact:
Deirdre Grant 086 0484 279
Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation, Press Office - 01 631 2200 or press.office@djei.ie
Marie McMahon 087 1255572
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