Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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My question concerns the Minister's ambitions to bring the PRSI and USC systems together to some extent. When the ESRI first produced papers on the USC back before the crash, it was intended that it would become contributory, that is, a universal social contribution. When it was brought in by the then Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government during the first years of the collapse, however, it then became a charge. It was, in fact, a very effective form of taxation. If the Minister is agreeing to merge or blend the two systems, will whatever portion of the USC that is transferred to be joined with PRSI then count as a contribution for those who have paid it? As the Minister mentioned himself, it is clear from the data we have on life expectancy, population growth and so forth that unless workers and their employers have adequate contributions - many employers nowadays do not provide private pensions- people could themselves wholly reliant on a retirement pension when they reach retirement age. If that funding is to be augmented by transferring USC to it over a period, I assume that whatever remains of the USC will then become a contribution as opposed to a tax. This means, in other words, that it will move into the category of PRSI.

There are certain things that worry people as they approach pensionable age that may not have bothered them when they were much younger. The first of these is the issue of medical expenses. Does the Minister have a model that includes, for instance, the hypothecation of some of the joint PRSI-USC contribution so as to be targeted to provide people with certain levels of medical cover? This would amount, in other words, to a contribution towards people's medical expenses based on an insurance model that would bring us closer to a universal medical system provision or some element thereof. What does the Minister think about these issues?