Mr. Martin Shanahan:

Those are both matters of policy and ultimately for the Government to decide. However, it is a clear-cut answer from my perspective. Anything that adds to the cost of employment is likely to have a detrimental impact on our ability to attract foreign direct investment and, indeed, on the capacity of enterprise to flourish in the State. If one increases employers' PRSI, one is adding to the cost of employment here. It is a policy decision ultimately. The Government has decided to cut the cake a particular way in terms of our tax profile and other jurisidictions do it in a slightly different way. Ultimately, one has to make the books balance. We all understand that, but things that add to the cost of employment are not good in terms of our ability to attract inward investment.