This submission provides a brief factual survey of statutory minimum wage systems in OECD countries (Section B) as well as a summary of recommendations concerning minimum wages which have been presented in the OECD Jobs Study and recent OECD Economic Surveys (Section C). This is followed by a discussion of the factors which should be considered when reviewing the likely effects of statutory minimum wages on employment and unemployment (Section D), and on low pay and poverty (Section E). It is based on recent empirical evidence from OECD countries and, whenever possible, discusses the relevance of the different factors characterising minimum wages for the Irish context. The need for further research is discussed in Section F.