Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I raised the issue of the impact of the €60,000 cut-off point. I accept that these issues can arise when a change of rate beyond a certain level of income is being imposed. As a result of this change, a person earning just over €60,000 will pay an additional universal social charge of approximately €1,300, which is quite severe, while a person on €100 less - whose earnings are just under €60,000 - will not be affected in the same way. When a similar issue arose during the recent Croke Park negotiations - it was pointed out that the effect of a proposal relating to people earning slightly more than €65,000 would not be similar to its effect on people earning €64,500 - a proviso was included to ensure the deal would not result in the earnings of those who were on just over €65,000 coming down below €65,000. Can the Minister devise an equivalent intervention from a taxation perspective to even out the effect of this measure? It will be quite a severe hit for those who are just on the button. Some people might be able to control their income, but that is not an option for most people who have a fixed occupational pension or whatever. They will be €1,300 worse off overnight by comparison with someone who earns €100 less. There must be a way of dealing with that intelligently.