Are you earning the living wage?
The living wage for Ireland has been set at €11.70 per hour, an increase of 20 cent on last year’s figure.
The lwage, which was established in Ireland in 2014, is a wage which makes possible a minimum acceptable standard of living and is calculated by evidence based and built on budget standards research.
It is based on needs, not wants, and is based on the cost of living in Ireland, unlike the minimum wage.
The Living Wage Technical Group say that the increase in the 2017 figure “has been driven by changes in the cost of living and changes in the taxation system”.
“The current housing crisis, and associated increases in rent levels, has been the main driver of the wage rate increasing for 2017,” read a report published on Wednesday.
The figure calculated in the report takes into account a range of expenses, such as food, clothing, personal care, health, education, transport, housing, insurance and savings and contingencies.
Those expenses are adjusted relative to where in the country an individual is living. For example, total weekly expenditure is calculated at €460.05 in Dublin, compared to €372.72 in cities, €397.58 in towns and €369.70 in rural areas.
When the hourly figure of €11.70 is extended, the gross living wage per week in Ireland is calculated at €455.52 and the wage per annum is calculated at €23,750.56.
While the cost of food, health insurance and household goods was deemed to have gone down in 2017 compared to last year, the cost of housing, energy and transport was deemed to have increased.
The housing crisis driving up the cost of rent had a particularly significant effect on the increase in the living wage figure for this year.
You can see the report by The Living Wage Technical Group in full here.
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