The 'social wage' for full-time workers in Ireland's extremely low by EU standards, according to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
In a new report to mark May Day, the union's calling on government to do more to improve living standards.
The social wage measures how individuals benefit from State spending on supports and services.
ICTU president Kevin Callinan says if businesses were taxed at a higher rate, greater services could be provided for people:
"Ireland is way out of step with European norms in terms of the level of social spending. Overall, we're a low tax economy. And although workers pay more than the average European worker as a whole, we're taking a lower tax take. The main reason for that is the relatively low rate of employer PRSI. That needs to change. If it changed. We could actually do more in the way of financial support and broader social services."
