Low Pay Is Ireland's Hidden Crisis: Women Bear the Brunt as New Research Exposes Systemic Failure
A comprehensive new report on low pay in Ireland has found that the problem is not primarily about hourly rates but about hours — with nearly three-quarters of low-paid workers earning above the national minimum wage but unable to secure sufficient working hours to reach a living wage — and that women bear a disproportionate share of the burden, accounting for almost two-thirds of the low-paid workforce in a pattern that reflects deep structural inequalities in the Irish labour market.
Background
The Working Life on Low Pay report, published by researchers at the Nevin Economic Research Institute and the UCD School of Business and based on the Working in Ireland Survey 2025, is the most comprehensive examination of low pay in Ireland in recent years. It comes at a moment when the issue is particularly politically charged, with the Low Pay Commission having recommended a 5.6% increase in the national minimum wage for 2027 and the Small Firms Association calling on the government to reject that recommendation on the grounds that businesses cannot absorb further labour cost increases.
Ireland's minimum wage, which currently stands at €13.50 per hour, is among the highest in the European Union in absolute terms. But the report's central finding — that low pay is driven by insufficient hours rather than insufficient hourly rates — suggests that the minimum wage debate, while important, is addressing only part of the problem. A worker earning €13.50 per hour but working only 20 hours per week will earn €270 per week, well below the living wage threshold of approximately €400 per week for a single adult in most parts of the country.
The sectors most heavily represented among the low-paid are retail (26.8%), accommodation and food services (15.5%), and health and social work (14.6%) — sectors that are characterised by part-time and variable-hours contracts, high rates of female employment, and limited opportunities for progression. The geographic distribution of low pay is also significant, with the border region of Ireland reporting the highest rates — a finding that has implications for the economic development of counties like Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan.
Key Developments
The report's headline finding — that women account for almost two-thirds of the low-paid workforce — reflects a pattern that is well established in the international literature but that has not previously been quantified so precisely for Ireland. Approximately 29.7% of women fall below the two-thirds median weekly earnings threshold, compared to 16.9% of men. The gender gap in low pay is driven by a combination of factors, including the concentration of women in low-paid sectors, the higher prevalence of part-time work among women, and the impact of caring responsibilities on women's ability to work full-time hours.
The report also found that low-paid jobs are characterised by poor working conditions beyond the financial dimension. A significant proportion of low-paid workers report feeling physically exhausted, and one-third have experienced verbal abuse or shouting in their workplace within the past year. Opportunities for training, upskilling, and technological engagement are limited, creating a trap in which low-paid workers are unable to develop the skills that would allow them to move into better-paid employment.
Dr. Lisa Wilson, one of the report's lead authors, said the findings should prompt a fundamental rethink of how Ireland approaches the low pay problem. "Raising the minimum wage is a positive step, but it doesn't address the primary issue for most low-paid workers, which is the lack of sufficient working hours and the quality of their employment," she said. "We need to look at banded hours contracts, the right to request additional hours, and the enforcement of existing employment rights."
Why It Matters
The report's findings matter for several reasons. They demonstrate that Ireland's strong economic performance — record corporate tax receipts, low unemployment, strong GDP growth — is not translating into adequate living standards for a significant proportion of the workforce. The disconnect between macroeconomic success and the lived experience of low-paid workers is a political and social problem as much as an economic one, and it has implications for social cohesion, public health, and the sustainability of the economic model.
The gender dimension is particularly significant. Ireland has made considerable progress on gender equality in recent decades, but the persistence of a large gender pay gap — driven in significant part by the concentration of women in low-paid, part-time work — suggests that progress has been uneven. The report's findings will strengthen the case for policy interventions that go beyond the minimum wage, including investment in affordable childcare, reform of the social welfare system to remove disincentives to working additional hours, and stronger enforcement of employment rights.
The border region finding also deserves attention. Counties along the border with Northern Ireland have historically had lower incomes and higher rates of economic disadvantage than the national average, and the report's finding that they have the highest rates of low pay in the Republic suggests that the economic benefits of the peace process and the single market have not been evenly distributed.
Local Impact
The report's findings will resonate particularly strongly in the retail and hospitality sectors, which are major employers in every county in Ireland. In Dublin, where the cost of living is highest, the gap between low pay and a living wage is most acute, and the report's findings will add to the pressure on employers in the city to improve pay and conditions. In rural counties, where the retail and hospitality sectors are often the primary source of employment for women, the findings highlight the need for targeted economic development strategies that create higher-quality employment opportunities. SIPTU, which represents workers in many of the sectors identified in the report, has called for a national low pay strategy that goes beyond the minimum wage and addresses the structural factors driving the problem.
What's Next
The report will be formally presented to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Low Pay Commission in the coming weeks. The Low Pay Commission is expected to take its findings into account in its deliberations on the 2027 minimum wage recommendation, which will be submitted to the government before the end of October. The government has indicated that it will consider the report's recommendations as part of its broader review of employment law, which is expected to include proposals on banded hours contracts and the right to request additional hours. A Dáil debate on the report's findings is expected to be scheduled for November.
