Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is making the argument I made. The point I made earlier is that his proposal this year cost €462 million. The proposal I suggested, which should be the sum total of what we do with USC, is to bring those earning up to the minimum wage out of the net, which would cost €78 million. While I have acknowledged that this would narrow the tax base, in the context of USC bringing in €5.6 billion by 2021, it is affordable. How can the Minister, legitimately and with a straight face, say that a proposal to take these people out of the USC tax net at a cost of €78 million would leave us vulnerable to external shocks and narrow the tax base? How can he also state that he believes in the principle that people should pay a certain amount of income, particularly in light of the debate we have had and his commitment to continue what he is doing this area in the next number of finance Bills.