Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Labour Party does not support either of the amendments for the same reason we outlined this time last year when discussing very similar amendments. As the Minister noted, the USC raises a significant amount of revenue to be spent on the public services on which we all depend. Those on low and middle incomes especially depend on quality public services. There is an onus, of course, on anybody who is proposing to abolish the USC or to adapt or amend the way in which it works to identify ways in which that gap could be plugged. I appreciate that Deputy Boyd Barrett has made efforts to do so in the amendment he has tabled.

The USC is the very definition of a progressive tax. There are very few hiding places for money in terms of the USC. This is one of the good and positive aspects of it. There is no doubt that it is an imposition on working people. This is clear. I do not want to use the word "burden" and I never use it with regard to tax but efforts have been made over the years to reduce the cost, if we can describe it as such, for working people. Earlier in the Chamber we had a discussion in response to a question I tabled on the PRSI threshold that applies to workers on the national minimum wage. Efforts have been made over the years to reduce the USC for the very lowest paid in our society.

That is the right thing to do. We will not support this amendment. In fact, the best way to support working people who are in difficult circumstances is to use the resources we have, and can generate in a vibrant economy, to invest in the public services on which we all depend.