Work

Will raising Ireland's minimum wage to €13 per hour be bad for business? What the research says

The minimum wage is set to be replaced by the living wage. While studies have largely backed the change, some business groups are fighting the move

Shopping expense: the concept of a living wage has become a key issue in recent years, as many workers in developed countries struggle with high living and housing costs. Picture: RollingNews

It’s not often that an academic study conjures up images of animals battling it out in the wild, but Neil McDonnell, the chief executive of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association (ISME), invoked the theory of survival of the fittest when discussing a key report looking at increasing the minimum wage.

Amid the debate about hiking the minimum wage from its current position of €10.50, a government-commissioned study from Maynooth University published in June ...