The CSO survey on income and living conditions 2017 was published yesterday. It shows that 109,000 people with jobs, the very people who get up early in the morning and go to work, are living in poverty. They are the working poor and the numbers are alarmingly on the increase. There are over 4,000 more people in employment at risk of poverty than 12 months ago. The Taoiseach has often said that the best route out of poverty is to find a job but that is not true. Having a job does not guarantee a route out of poverty. We need the introduction of a living wage for working people to ensure that those in work are not living in poverty. When will the Taoiseach commit to introducing a living wage?

The CSO figures published yesterday are interesting reading for anyone interested in this area. It had two statistically significant findings, namely, that consistent poverty had fallen and that the deprivation rate had fallen. The deprivation rate has fallen from 30% five years ago to 18.8%, so the percentage almost halved in five years. Consistent poverty has fallen from 9% in 2013 to 6.7%, which is another very significant fall in poverty in the past four years. This is principally because more people are at work and unemployment has fallen by so much.

I call Deputy Niamh Smyth.

What about the living wage?

There are 2.3 million people at work and according to CSO figures, 1.4% are suffering from consistent poverty. Some 24,000 children were lifted out of poverty last year. While there are too many people in poverty in Ireland, there is no doubt that for four years it has been going in the right direction. There are more people at work, incomes are rising, fewer people, including children, are in poverty and in-work poverty has fallen to 1.4%. If one looks at this internationally-----