Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not support either of the amendments. Our position on the USC is well laid out. More lower income earners need to be taken out of the tax bracket and we will table amendments on Report Stage on this. It would also be a better way to provide a tax break for workers and would not do what the Minister has done, namely, exclude the large number of almost three quarters of income earners from the benefit of the most costly part of the Government's tax package.

Given that there is a debate on the two amendments that have been tabled, I will speak on them. I heard what the Minister said about the cost of this being €5 billion. I agree with him because that is exactly the charge I put to him when he campaigned to abolish the USC. Will the Minister inform the committee on whether he campaigned to abolish the USC? Did he acknowledge at that time that it was an emergency measure? Where was he going to get the €5 billion when he abolished the USC as he promised?