Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 January 2016
446. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Defence the discussions his Department has had with suppliers or service contractors to his Department or to agencies of his Department to ensure that employees of such suppliers and contractors are paid the living wage of €11.50 per hour; the cost of implementing this wage for these employees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1369/16]
View answerMy Department has had no such discussions with suppliers or service contractors to the Department with regard to compliance with payment of the Living Wage to the employees of suppliers or service contracts.
It is important that Ireland’s National Minimum Wage and the Living Wage concept are not conflated. The Living Wage is a voluntary societal initiative centred on the social, business and economic case to ensure that, wherever it can be afforded, employers pay a rate of pay that provides an income that is sufficient to meet an individual’s basic needs, such as housing, food, clothing, transport and healthcare. The Living Wage is voluntary and has no legislative basis and is, therefore, not a statutory entitlement and cannot be imposed on suppliers or contractors.
However, compliance with employment law obligations, such as the National Minimum Wage, in respect of contracts for the provision of goods or services awarded by my Department and the Defence Forces is set down in standard tender documentation. It provides that successful tenderers shall be solely responsible in law for the employment, remuneration, taxes, immigration and work permits of all personnel retained under any such contract.
Minimum rates of pay may also be supplemented by social transfers such as Child Benefit, Family Income Supplement or health, education or housing assistance payments where the need arises and to reflect family circumstances. These have served to provide an important safety net for families that by virtue of their circumstances require such financial support.
