Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I take Deputy Crowe's point. He mentioned the Continent, but the PRSI take on the Continent is substantially greater than it is in Ireland. Taxes and the take from payroll are much higher there than in Ireland. There is greater involvement in pensions on the Continent because much of the saving there is semi-mandatory, while in Ireland, apart from the basic PRSI system which funds our State pensions, we do not have a mandatory element. Society may have to make a decision as to what extent it wants to live for today or invest in pensions for tomorrow, either through the PRSI or PRSA system, or directly through the tax breaks system. This is a societal issue which we must address.

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