Government votes against ending age pay discrimination
Government votes against ending age pay discrimination - The Labour Party
Labour’s workers’ rights spokesperson Senator Nessa Cosgrove has slammed Government has voted against Labour’s National Minimum Wage (Inclusion of Young Persons, Apprentices and Interns) Bill 2025 following a debate in the Seanad yesterday evening, a decision that will see sub-minimum wage rates remain in place for young workers, apprentices and interns.
The Bill, brought forward by Labour’s workers’ rights spokesperson Senator Nessa Cosgrove, would have ended age-based pay discrimination and ensured that apprentices and interns are entitled to at least the National Minimum Wage. Despite mounting evidence of exploitation and the growing cost-of-living pressures facing young people, Government parties chose to oppose the legislation.
Senator Cosgrove said:
“The Government’s decision to vote against this Bill is deeply disappointing and completely indefensible. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have once again turned their backs on young workers, apprentices and interns who are struggling to make ends meet.
“Young people and apprentices have been treated appallingly by successive Governments. It is utterly antiquated, outdated and grossly unfair that someone can be paid less simply because of their age, despite doing the same work as colleagues beside them.
“Last night, the Government had an opportunity to end that injustice. Instead, they chose to defend a system that writes discrimination into law.”
Since 1 January 2025, the National Minimum Wage stands at €13.50 per hour. However, workers under 18 can still legally be paid just 70% of that rate, or €9.45 per hour. Eighteen-year-olds can be paid as little as €10.80, while 19-year-olds can be paid €12.15.
“That is not fairness,” Senator Cosgrove said. “It is age-based pay discrimination, plain and simple.”
Sub-minimum wages
“Labour has long campaigned to scrap sub-minimum wage rates. In 2022, almost 95,000 people aged between 15 and 19 were in the workforce. Many of them rely on their wages to survive, whether to contribute to household income, pay rent, or live independently.
“The idea that young people’s wages are merely pocket money reflects a deeply outdated and patriarchal attitude that has no place in a modern economy. It sends a clear message that their time, effort and contribution are worth less. That is the message the Government reinforced with last night’s vote.”
Apprentices
“If the Government is serious about tackling the housing crisis, then it must make construction and skilled trades viable careers. That means decent pay, stability and respect. On this, the Government has failed.
“There has been a 20% dropout rate among apprentices over a three-year period. Apprentices consistently tell us that low pay is the main reason they leave. In 2025, it is unacceptable that an apprentice can earn as little as €7.16 an hour while employers cry out for skilled workers.
“By voting against this Bill, the Government is actively undermining efforts to build a sustainable workforce in construction and the trades.”
Internships
“Internships should open doors, not close them. While interns are learning, they are also producing real work and adding real value.
“Unpaid and underpaid internships lock out those without financial backing and entrench inequality in our workplaces. Labour’s Bill would have provided clarity, protection and fairness for interns starting out in their careers.”
Senator Cosgrove concluded:
“This Bill was supported by ICTU, the FSU, Connect Trade Union and AMLE, all of whom recognise that the age pay gap must end. The Government chose to ignore them, and to ignore young people across the country.
“Labour will continue to campaign to end age-based pay discrimination. Last night’s vote shows just how far this Government is from the lived reality of young workers, apprentices and interns.”