Living Wage group recommends 60c increase to €12.90 per hour

This is due mostly to rising rental costs.

The Living Wage in Ireland should increase by 60c to €12.90 per hour, the group that calculates it has said. Calculated by the Living Wage Technical Group (LWTG), the living wage rate establishes the average gross salary that should enable full-time employed adults without dependents across Ireland to afford a socially acceptable standard of living. It is not the same as the national minimum wage, which currently stands at €10.20. The living wage is calculated based on living costs and as such, the increased rate is associated with hikes in these costs. Over the past year, increases in housing, transport and communications costs have outweighed lower costs in clothing, food and insurance to drive the overall rise. Higher rents throughout the country were the significant driver of the overall rise in expenditure. The LWTG notes that in Dublin, weekly housing costs increased by 6% or €17 per week. Also, smaller rises in expenditure costs associated with transport (higher fuel prices), communications (postage, phone and internet costs) and energy (electricity and home heating oil) were factors in the proposed living wage increase.