Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2004
53 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention was drawn to a recent conference in Dublin organised by ICTU that heard that a gender pay gap still exists here, 30 years after equal pay legislation came into effect; and if his attention was drawn to the fact that a significant pay gap exists between single and married persons. [17711/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the equality for women measure, my Department provided funding of €380,000 for the ICTU project entitled Negotiating for Equality — Gender and Pay. It culminated in the recent conference held in Dublin Castle.
The most up to date figures on wage levels here shows that, on average, men earn approximately 15% per hour more than women. The data was compiled by the Economic and Social Research Institute from the Living in Ireland Survey and encompasses overtime earnings, pensions and fringe benefits as well as regular wages. According to the ESRI, the main cause of the gender pay gap is the time lost from the labour market by women for child rearing. For example, by age 45, women on average have nine years less experience than men. Women's over representation in low paid positions and their under representation in senior positions are also significant factors.
As regards the pay gap between single and married people, this is explained by the fact that on average married people are older than single people and thus have longer labour market experience with resultant higher wages.
My Department chaired a consultative group, set up under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, to report to Government on actions required to address the gender pay gap. In November 2003 the group's report was finalised and formally presented to Government. It contains a number of recommendations addressing a wide range of Government policies including taxation, statutory minimum wages, education and training and the development of family friendly policies. In addition, my Department has commissioned to ESRI to research the gender pay gap among graduates. The report is due to be finalised at the end of 2004.
