The Irish Times has focused on the issue of a Living Wage in a special series of articles published last month. The series includes a report that Tánaiste Joan Burton has encouraged public and private sector employers to sign up to paying a “living wage” for workers as the economy begins to grow.

The series comes at a time when more people are working and economic indicators are all set on positive for the first time in several years. Despite this changing trend, real income has been falling for five years, and one in five workers now earns less than the “living wage” of €11.45 an hour, the income below which it is impossible to make ends meet.

The Irish Times poses the question “As the budget looms, will the Government take the steps needed to make work pay?”

The full series of articles, interviews and helpful  infographics is available HERE.