There are two Deputies remaining. If they are very brief, I will take them together.

On page 40 of the programme for Government the Government committed to raising the national minimum wage to €10.50 an hour. The last increase was 10 cent, from €9.15 to €9.25, a paltry increase. At this rate, it will take the Government 11 years to reach its target.

It has nothing to do with the Low Pay Commission, rather it is a commitment in the programme for Government. As the Minister knows, the cost of living is now huge. People cannot make ends meet on €9.25 per hour. Rent, travel, insurance and other costs are massively affecting people at a time when wages are not increasing. Will the Minister commit to raising the national minimum wage to €10.50 immediately and start to progress towards a living wage of €11.50?

The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, has informed me in a written reply to a parliamentary question that he intends to introduce legislation to ensure payments made in respect of the Stardust fire of 1981 will not be counted as means in calculations for social welfare purposes. I do not expect the Minister opposite to know the detail of that commitment, but he might remind the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, of his commitment. I hope the legislation can be taken in the House sooner rather than later.

I missed Deputy Declan Breathnach. I apologise.

I must be the third man on this side of the House. The programme for Government contains a commitment to keep people in their own homes for as long as possible. In that regard, I note that the disabled person's grants scheme, while very welcome in all counties, is completely oversubscribed. In my county alone in the priority 1 category, many people have been refused the grant owing to oversubscription. As I have done before, I ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, to consider the reintroduction of the housing aid for the elderly scheme, whereby a small grant of approximately €5,000 could be matched by families, either through work or materials, to extend the capacity of people to live in their homes for longer.

I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Breen, to deal with the issue raised by Deputy Maurice Quinlivan.

I will pass on to the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, the concerns of Deputy Seán Haughey. As the Deputy acknowledges, the Minister has indicated that he wants to see if the payment can be released in such a way as to avoid disqualifying recipients from receiving other payments they may already be receiving.

The matter raised by Deputy Declan Breathnach is one which the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, who I will have to mention every time I also mention the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, is raising in the context of budget 2018.

I remind Deputy Maurice Quinlivan that the minimum wage in Ireland is the second highest in Europe after Luxembourg. The idea behind establishing the Low Pay Commission last year was to take responsibility for the matter away from the Government. The commission consists of academics, business people and trade union representatives whose task is to make a balanced decision on the level of the minimum wage each year. It is working on the issue and, I understand, will make a decision in July. The idea was to take it away from the Government and place it before a small group which was balanced and independent in its composition.