The Minister for Social Protection says the country has to look at the minimum wage and the effect it has on the living standards of people.

Joan Burton was responding to questions about a speech she gave in Cork over the weekend where she suggested the minimum wage should be increased in order to remove people from income support schemes.

The move aims to reduce the reliance of lower paid workers on social welfare payments to supplement their income.

The Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte has said he will have to hear the Social Protection Minister's case over plans to increase the minimum wage-before outlining his position on the issue.

 Employment groups warn against kite-flying

The idea has been met with anger from employers groups who say it will put an unfair burden on businesses.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has warned the government not to raise the minimum wage, saying it would be detrimental for jobs.

Mark Fielding from ISME said employers cannot afford any rise in wages and it would stop them taking on new staff.

"This type of kite flying will stop businesses looking at taking on new people over the next number of months. This time last year she flew a kite about sick pay and it actually pulled back people who were planning on taking on new people, because they have this hidden cost coming down the road" he said yesterday.

But Minister Burton says studies have shown that consumers respect employers that have an ethical framework around wages and it can also improve productivity.