I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion regarding the living wage. On Tuesday, 15 October 2019, on the question that the amendment to the motion be agreed to, a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann:” and substitute the following:

“notes:

— the valuable contribution that workers make to Irish society;

— the commencement of the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 in March 2019, which restricts the use of zero-hour contracts;

— micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) currently employ over one million people in Ireland, according to the Central Statistics Office;

— that the cost of employer liability insurance and public liability insurance is a direct threat to the competitiveness and sustainability of many businesses throughout the country, including SMEs;

— the failure of the Government to tackle the high cost of living in Ireland, in particular, in the areas of housing and childcare; and

— that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average for childcare costs represents about 12.6 per cent of net family income, whereas in Ireland the figure stands at about 27.4 per cent; and

calls on the Government:

— as the largest employer in the country, to act as a role model in terms of implementing the living wage in the public sector, which will set a broader standard without placing an undue legislative burden upon employers struggling to keep down costs;

— to refer the question of the living wage to the Low Pay Commission;

— to tackle the high cost of living in Ireland, including housing, childcare, insurance and public transport;

— to accelerate the roll-out of the affordable purchase scheme for housing;

— to establish a national affordable rent scheme; and

— to tackle the high cost of insurance which is crippling businesses and progress the Civil Liability and Courts (Amendment) Bill 2019.”

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “not to increase the national minimum wage; and” and substitute the following:

“— instruct the Low Pay Commission to ensure that the national minimum wage becomes a genuine living wage from 2020 onwards, with appropriate legal protections for small- or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who can show they cannot afford to pay the living wage.”

I move amendment No. 3:

To delete all words after “not to increase the national minimum wage; and” and substitute the following:

“—introduce a minimum wage of €12.30 per hour in 2020 as a step towards €15 per hour.”