Lidl has declined to indicate whether it will pay staff in the Republic the full living wage as it intends to do in Britain.
The German discounter last week became the first supermarket chain to sign up to Britain's higher wage campaign, pledging to pay staff a minimum of £8.20 an hour across England, Scotland and Wales and £9.35 an hour in London.
The move is expected to cost the company £9 million and is worth £1,200 a year for its 9,000 staff.
Lidl Ireland, however, declined to say if it would adopt a similar position here.
The Republic's living wage is currently €11.50 an hour, a third more than the minimum wage, which is set at €8.65 an hour. Lidl, which has 143 stores in the Republic and a further 38 in Northern Ireland, already pays staff better than most of its rivals, with rates starting from €11.20 an hour.
In respect of Northern Ireland, the company told The Irish Times that store assistants working in Lidl NI already earned up to £8.60 an hour.
The living wage is defined as the minimum pay workers need to meet their needs for housing, utilities, transport, healthcare, clothing and food.
It differs from the legally required minimum wage which is set by law, which campaigners say claim often fails to meet basic standard of living requirements, leaving recipients reliant on welfare for additional income.
*This article was amended on September 21st 2015
