Nobody intended to make the mistake.

Ninety-eight years ago today, the Democratic Programme for the First Dáil was published. Written by the Labour Party leader, Tom Johnson, it set out an ambitious set of proposals to make Ireland an equal and prosperous nation. That programme declared the right of every citizen to an adequate share of the produce of the nation's labour. Ninety-eight years later, the Tánaiste will agree we are some distance from realising this important and lofty ambition.

During the last election, the Labour Party proposed the Low Pay Commission be mandated to deliver a living wage to all working people during the lifetime of this Dáil. We wanted to build on the decent progress made by the previous Government, which saw the hourly minimum wage rate rise by €1.50 after Fianna Fáil had savagely cut it. The programme for Government which Fine Gael, together with the Independents, has published, promised to increase the minimum wage to a level of €10.50. It is a crying shame the Government has done nothing to deliver on this outcome to date. The 10 cent per hour increase awarded from 1 January will come as little comfort to those working on the minimum wage. For the 100,000 people or more who get paid just €9.25 per hour that increase, bluntly, was an insult. If the Government continues at this rate of increase, if this is to be the rate that will take place, it will be 2030 before the modest €10.50 promised in the Government proposals is reached. That is another 13 years to achieve the target set. Frankly, that is not good enough, and I suspect that privately the Tánaiste agrees with me on this issue.

What action, if any, does the Government intend to take to deliver at the very least on its published commitment to bring the minimum hourly rate of pay in the State to €10.50? More importantly, will Fine Gael now review the agreement it has with the Independents on this, and the commitment set out in the programme for Government, and instead set a clear pathway for the lowest paid in the State to achieve what, by universal agreement now, is required to maintain a living wage in the State?

I thank Deputy Howlin, who quoted Tom Johnson, and I recognise the anniversary today to which he referred. The Deputy spoke about people benefiting from the fruits of society.

That is precisely the approach the Government took in the budget. We passed a prudent budget. The ESRI recognised that those earning the least benefited the most. There are now 2 million people at work and it is Labour Party policy to ensure people have access to jobs, a job being the best way out of poverty. It improves people's standard of living and it gives us the resources to invest in services we need for the fair society to which the Deputy referred.

Access to services is part of creating a fair society. The Low Pay Commission was independent during the Deputy's time in Government and it remains independent. The programme for partnership Government sets out detailed actions and commitments which will be implemented over the lifetime of the Government and has one simple objective at its core, namely, to make people's lives better in every part of Ireland and ensure the recovery reaches out to every family and region. We are taking every action we can to build the strong economy that will enable us to deliver the fair society about which the Deputy spoke.

The progress report which we published some weeks ago sets out some of the progress made to date. I recognise that there is more work to be done and, as resources permit, the issues outlined by the Deputy will continue to receive attention. I ask the Deputy to acknowledge that it was a fair and prudent budget that continues our road to economic recovery and allows us to give direct support to individuals who need most. It also creates the conditions that ensure people have access to work and we can invest in services.

Getting people back to work is an overarching priority but getting people back to work is not the full story. People in work have to be afforded a decent standard of living and work must pay. I am aware of the mandate of the Low Pay Commission but that mandate can be changed by the Government. We have proposed that the terms of reference of the Low Pay Commission should be amended by including a requirement that it works to the achievement of a minimum wage equivalent of 60% of median income by 2021. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor, has resisted that change. Will the Government consider making a change to the terms of reference of the Low Pay Commission? It is not its fault that it allocated a miserable 10 cent per hour as that was all it could do under its terms of reference. Would the Government change that and make sure public sector workers are the first to benefit, and ensure the Public Sector Pay Commission, now in being, is mandated to deliver on a living wage for all public sector workers, for whom the Government has direct responsibility? Is it content to wait until 2030 before a decent living wage is paid to workers in the State?

The Deputy is well aware of the challenges this country faced and he was instrumental in ensuring we moved forward on the right path to ensure the economic recovery. The last report from the commission made several points on concerns about remaining competitive, the fragile recovery and the impact on Border areas and SMEs. The commission has commenced work on its third report regarding the appropriate rate for the national minimum wage. As part of the public consultation aspect of this process, it is looking for submissions before 9 February and it will submit its third report by 18 July 2017. The Minister will have heard what the Deputy said and this will be part of the Government's consideration of precisely what rate we can move forward with.

It is clear that in a post-Brexit situation, where there are many challenges and where the country has to remain competitive if we are to continue to create jobs, this kind of decision has to get full consideration. I reiterate that it is crucial for us to ensure we continue on the path of economic recovery on which we have started.