Numerous mechanisms are used to set minimum wages around the world. Following its first year in office (2015), the Low Pay Commission (LPC) set down the issues and principles which it considered were of particular importance in terms of the concept of a minimum wage, and set out the approach it believes best suits the situation in Ireland. By and large these issues and principles remain the same in 2018. A key policy principle put forward by the OECD, following its review of the role of minimum wages after the economic crisis, can be summarised as follows: “Use minimum wages as a tool to raise wages at the bottom of the wage ladder, but accompany them with other tax and benefit measures to effectively fight poverty in and out of work” (OECD 2015). Thus, minimum wages alone are not sufficient as a poverty alleviation strategy. Additional policies are required to deal with issues such as housing, childcare and transport costs.