IBEC has claimed that employers in Ireland would struggle if they were forced to pay a living wage.

The comments come ahead of an announcement expected later today from the Minister for Employment of a conference to discuss introducing a living wage.

IBEC say that some employers would have to shed some staff should a living wage be introduced.

Maeve McElwee from IBEC said that the structure of the Irish labour market would make wage increases difficult.

"It would be very difficult for employers to look at a living wage," she said.

"Given the structure of the Irish labour force, 45% of the Irish private sector are employed by employers with less than 50 employees, 21% with less than 10 employees, so very high labour intensity in terms of our labour market structure and it would actually be a very, very significant burden on Irish employers."