Rent increases have pushed the ‘living wage’ up by 40 cent in the last year according to the Living Wage Technical Group, which calculates the minimum full-time earnings needed to support an acceptable standard of living.

The living wage rate is now €12.30 an hour, well above the official statutory minimum wage €9.80.

The Living Wage Technical Group, which calculates the living wage on behalf of the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, says there has been little change in overall living costs aside from rents.

It calculates that the cost of an acceptable minimum standard of living increased by an average of 2.3% for a single full-time worker without dependents over the past year.

The group says that if rents had increased at the same pace as other living costs, the Living Wage would now be lower than the 2014 rate of €11.45 an hour.

Assistant Professor of Social Policy at UCD Dr Micheál Collins said costs including food, household items, communications and income tax had fallen over the past year. But energy costs have risen.