Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I aim to set up the working group after the passage of the Finance Bill. My ambition is that I will get an update or a report from the working group in advance of budget 2019. As for how long it will take to do, it is a very significant piece of work that will take between three and five budgets. I am going to proceed with great care. The object of the approach is actually to strengthen the contributory principle that the Deputy is referring to and not in any way to dilute it.

One of the things that I am struck by in dealing with how people see personal taxation overall, is that they see the social insurance element of their contributions in a different light to how they see their personal taxation contributions or even USC contributions. They feel that at a point in the future, they will get a benefit back from their social insurance. I would like to see how we could move more of our tax collection code into that space.

In terms of the difficulties that I would have to deal with, which is why I am being careful about saying how long it would take, the most significant ones of which I am aware are how and to where the revenues would accrue. As the Deputy will know, from a tax point of view revenue that is generated through tax accrues to the Exchequer and revenue that is generated through PRSI accrues to the Social Insurance Fund. On operational matters, such as a pensioner not being liable to PRSI but being liable to USC, we collect them in a very different way. PRSI is done on a week-by-week basis while USC is done on a cumulative basis.