The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, revealed today that inflation has surged to a 22-year high of 6.7%. The Central Bank of Ireland has projected that inflation is set to continue rising. Households are already squeezed financially and look set to be even further squeezed by this rise in inflation, given the rising costs of fuel, food and other commodities. As ever, these price rises and this increase in inflation will hit those on lowest incomes the hardest.

The Labour Party, however, believes the State can take action to address the hardships so many households are now facing. The reality is that for too long we have been a low-wage republic. We are saying that Ireland needs a pay rise. Far too many workers are on low pay. Ireland has one of the highest rates of low pay in Europe and the OECD, with 23% of people on low rates of pay. This is compounded by the rising cost of living. It is especially the case in Dublin, where we are seeing out-of-control rents and high costs for goods and services, as well as for early years education and childcare, which is leaving many households struggling to make ends meet and even to heat their homes and to put food on their tables. The Labour Party believes the best way to address this issue is to seek a way to increase take-home pay for working people and families. One way we can do this is to strengthen employees' power to negotiate pay rates and salaries and conditions with their employers. As a lifelong trade unionist, I believe we need to strengthen collective-bargaining rights and the ability of workers to negotiate these improved pay rates and conditions to ensure real and sustainable increases in income.

The State can also examine the national minimum wage. It is still only €10.50 per hour and this is significantly below the living wage figure of €12.90 per hour. We believe that a targeted emergency increase in the minimum wage would be one way of addressing the serious squeeze that the increases in the cost of living and the rising rate of inflation is putting on so many households on low incomes. People need a living-wage income. At the very minimum, they need an increase in the national minimum wage rate. We also believe that we must then set a pathway to achieving a genuine living wage rate.

Indeed, I note that the programme for Government of this Government promises to "Progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government", which means there is a de facto deadline of February 2025. Yet we have seen no movement to deliver on this promise. We have drafted a Bill that would change the mandate of the statutory Low Pay Commission and give us a genuine and effective pathway to achieving a real living wage rate. Therefore, we are calling first for an emergency increase in the national minimum wage rate of at least 30 cent an hour, to bring it up to €10.80 per hour. We are also seeking a pathway to achieving a genuine living income for those households being most affected and most squeezed and suffering the most hardships as the result of rising inflation and prices.

I agree with Deputy Bacik on a number of points but differ with her on a few others. It is absolutely correct to say that the cost of living impacts those on the lowest incomes the most. If we look at the data from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, however, the differential is not as wide as people may think. The most recent data produced by the CSO, and it is a little out of date, indicates that the rising cost of living impacts people in the lowest-income households, perhaps of the order 6% or 7%, while for middle-income households the equivalent rate is 5% or 6%. It is not as great a difference as people may believe it to be. That is why the Government decided we needed universal and targeted measures. Middle-income people, working people and people not on welfare are also struggling to pay the bills and to deal with increased utility costs. Even though we received criticism from people for doing it, I stand over the decision to take €200 off everyone's electricity bill, because even people on modest incomes and middle incomes are also struggling with their bills. If we only implement targeted measures, then working and middle-income people will lose out and that is wrong. That is why we need a combination of universal measures that benefits everyone, as well as targeted measures for those most affected.

Regarding wages, in Ireland they are approximately 36% higher than the OECD or EU average. As is often the case with statistics, it depends on how things are measured. Our minimum wage is the third, fourth or fifth highest in the OECD. If we compare what people are paid like-for-like, such as teachers, nurses, gardaí and construction workers, then Irish pay rates are higher than those in the UK and much higher than the OECD or EU average. When we adjust for the higher cost of living, that pretty much cancels that out. It can only really be argued that we are a low-pay economy based on relativities, and that is a particular way of working things out, in that because somebody in Microsoft is paid a fortune, that means we have relatively low pay. However, when we compare like with like, it is a much more complex picture and, as is often the case with statistics, it depends on how they are used. Certainly, compared with the average of our peers, wages are about 36% higher.

Our minimum wage is one of the highest in the world. I acknowledge that has to be offset against the fact that we have a higher cost of living and also by the fact that we have lower payroll taxes on people on lower and middle incomes than other countries do. Relativities can be used to prove almost anything and, therefore, can be misleading. The increase in the national minimum wage this year was lower than the rate of inflation. However, looking back over previous years, we have increased the national minimum wage well ahead of the rate of inflation. I think it has gone up by about 25% in the past five or six years. Inflation has not risen by 26% in the past five or six years. It is closer to 10%. With the exception of this year, we have had national minimum wage increases greater than inflation.

I will agree with the Tánaiste on one thing, which is that statistics can be used in all sorts of ways. Relativities are important. When one quotes statistics on wages, the key issue for everyone feeling it in their pockets is purchasing power, the actual relativity between take-home pay and the cost of living. Let us not forget that in Ireland we are paying for many things that other European countries provide for free, such as early years education and care and healthcare, particularly for children. We have higher costs for education and in many sectors than in other countries. The minimum wage has only increased by €1.35 in the last six years despite faster economic growth and higher inflation. We are clearly seeing a national minimum wage that has not kept pace with inflation. That has really caused a particularly difficult and tough squeeze on those households that are most in need and suffering most as we see the spiralling rate of inflation.

I agree that the best way to examine the situation is using purchasing power parity. That is fair. Irish people are paying more on average than our peers in Europe or across the OECD. We do have a higher cost of living and that needs to be factored in. What I do not think we should do is use relativities, because they can distort the picture. A small number of people who are paid an awful lot of money in the multinationals can move the average. It is misleading to use relativities of that nature. I agree that a fair comparison is purchasing power parity.

On the national minimum wage, I will check up on this. I acknowledge that the increase this year is less than the rate of inflation. I am pretty sure if the Deputy looks back over the last three, four or five years and takes it in the round, that the national minimum wage has increased ahead of the rate of inflation but I will double check that. On the living wage, I have finally got the report from the Low Pay Commission. The Minister of State, Deputy English, and I will consider it over the recess and will come back with a plan to move Ireland towards a living wage as committed in the programme for Government.