Minister of State at the Department of Health, Kathleen Lynch, has said she thinks the planned increase in the national minimum wage is reasonable, and she hopes it will be introduced before the next General Election.
Yesterday it emerged the Low Pay Commission is expected to recommend a rise of 50c per hour to the minimum wage, bringing the rate from €8.65 to €9.15 per hour.
Employers and businesses have come out strongly against the plan with the Restaurants Association of Ireland saying the increase would lead to cuts in hours and job losses.
The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) said the move would create false wage expectations across the economy.
Employers group Ibec said the economic evidence showed the case for an increase did not stack up.
A report by the Commission is to be published on Tuesday.
In relation to concerns raised by businesses about the impact of the increase, Minister Lynch said it would be something that there would have to be a conversation about.
Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics Minister Lynch said there had not been an increase in the minimum wage for some years now and the Government was determined there would be an increase.
She said the increase would make a difference to the lower paid, not an enormous difference, but a difference nevertheless.
It is expected the increase will be introduced in the Budget later this year and take effect from next year, as part of what Taoiseach Enda Kenny has called a package of measures, including measures to protect jobs.
Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics Research Officer with Unite Trade Union, Michael Taft, said the planned increase would make a marginal difference.
Mr Taft said his union had asked the Low Pay Commission to accept the strategic principle that over time the minimum wage should be increased to that of the living wage, which currently stands at €11.50.
Also speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, Fianna Fáil Environment spokesperson Barry Cowen said the increase that had been mooted was broadly in line with his party's submission to the Commission.
Speaking on the same programme, Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín, said the Low Pay Commission was not doing what it should be doing, and most people in work who were in poverty would not be affected by this increase.
He said most people on the minimum wage were dealing with increasing rents and ballooning costs, and this figure of a 50c rise would not be sufficient to help those people.
