Last week, the living wage technical group calculated that the living wage in the country in 2019 should be €12.30 per hour. They said the increase was needed, first and foremost, because of the increased costs of housing, accommodation, rent etc. A group of people is fighting to make the living wage a reality. They are thousands of Tesco workers - members of Mandate - who are campaigning for 1,000 new full-time jobs in the company, which has a 90% part-time workforce, and that the starting rate of pay should be €12.30 per hour, rising to €16.

In view of the report, does the Taoiseach accept that the reality for low-paid workers is that €12.30 should be the minimum figure on which to live and does he plan to legislate to provide for that?

Everyone's financial circumstances are different. As the Deputy will know from all the studies and reports done in respect of the national minimum wage, very often it is not the main income of the household but a secondary or part-time income in many cases. It depends on the individual circumstances whether there are rent or housing costs, or not.

As it stands, the national minimum wage is the second highest in Europe and the sixth highest when the high cost of living is taken into account. The law states the national minimum wage is calculated by the Low Pay Commission, which was established by the current Oireachtas to do that work. It takes into account a number of factors, such as the need to ensure that people who are at work get a decent wage but also the need to ensure we do not end up doing anything counterproductive by causing people to lose their jobs, particularly in Border areas, or to lose their hours, thereby ending up worse off if we make it too high.