Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

-----but it was a disgrace. In January the minimum wage will increase by 50 cent per hour, the second increase during the Labour Party's participation in the Government. In addition, I and the Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Nash, have launched a campaign for a living wage, and that has been supported by a large number of both employers, happily, and trade unions and workers' representatives. Deputy O'Dea might argue, and I would agree, that the progress has not been as fast as we would like, but it is progress.

I will be followed shortly by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, who effectively is unrolling the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts and the wage cuts Fianna Fáil introduced in 2009 and 2010. Throughout staff rooms in Ireland, including in Limerick, teachers can look forward to new schools. There will be 2,400 extra jobs in teaching at primary and secondary level and extra special needs assistants, SNAs, next year. Already this year between 1,400 and 1,600 extra people are employed in teaching at primary, secondary, SNA and special school level. The increase will be 2,400 next year.

In addition, those teachers, as they move to their new and refurbished schools, will know that the cuts in their salaries made by Deputy O'Dea's Government will be unrolled. That will be done in law and in legislation, starting on 1 January. All of that, by the way, will have been met within the framework of the fiscal rules that Fianna Fáil, in its own pre-budget statement, has set out and will abide by if in government, and other parties have set out similar positions.

All I can say is that it is a very good start to a strong recovery after all the hard work people have done and all the sacrifices they have made, given so many people lost businesses and employment when Fianna Fáil decided to do what it did and crash the country. Deputy O'Dea can choose to scoff but I think the scoffing is a little premature and very unwise.

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