Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We will come back to that point.

Speaking to section 2, the Minister said on budget day that he will establish a working group to plan over the coming year the process of amalgamating USC and PRSI over the medium term. Will the Minister define what he regards as medium term? What are the Government's plans for the amalgamation of USC and PRSI? Can the Minister give members any detail of how this will work in practice? In the PRSI code, for example, there is a link between contributions made and the benefits derived as a result of those contributions. Is the Minister saying that after an amalgamation, there no longer will be any separate identity between USC and PRSI? Will it be a full merger? Pensioners of course pay USC but they do not pay PRSI.

As for the State pension, the Government's plan is to move to a total contributions approach in 2020. If USC and PRSI are being amalgamated, how is that going to work? The Minister may not be able to answer those detailed questions but in terms of the overall plan and timeframe, when will the Minister set up the working group and when does he hope to make the first tangible steps towards amalgamation? When does the Minister expect it to be completed?