Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If another person decides to take €100 from their salary but takes it pre-tax to put it into the pot, and if they are on 40% tax, they will now have €60 to put into the pot, with €40 handed over to Revenue. At this stage, they get a €20 kickback, which gives them €80 in the pot, against the other €100. Both people are down €100 on their salaries and they have the rest to do whatever they want with, along with tax credits and the whole lot. It is quite simple.