Mr. Ian Talbot:

The increase in PRSI a few years back, the 0.3% extra to go into the National Training Fund, was an example of an initiative that worked reasonably well. It was announced that the change was to be made and the levy would rise by 0.3% by adding 0.1% annually for three years. The budget came and went and the measure went through. If people were sitting down and doing their budgets in November for 2024, their payroll person would be saying not to forget the extra 0.1% on the rate of PRSI. The change, therefore, is in the system and everybody can work around it. Prices and strategy can be set, etc., knowing it is there. This does bring up the question of what was done with the money when it went into the National Training Fund but that is a different argument. That is an example of how things do not have to be difficult.

People must be given some notice and not have big changes sprung on them. This brings me back to what I said earlier about some big things coming. It would be better if we phased them in by levying one third of the total cost over three years or one fifth over five years or whatever, rather than springing them on people all at once. Looking back to the debate on the water charges, I remember looking at the grid that was published in The Irish Timesand the Irish Independentone day, looking across at one house with four adults in it and saying "Oh my God" when I saw the price there. This was an example of where people suddenly went from paying nothing to paying €1,000 in water charges out of nowhere, and the bill was coming in the following week. This sort of approach goes down badly across the board. From the perspective of companies, we can plan and budget if we have certainty about where things are moving.