Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Regarding the first question, it is out of our respect for and in view of the importance of assisting the social partnership process that the Government is indicating that it is prepared to provide that the levy will not apply to incomes up to the level of the national minimum wage. I do not have the figures in front of me but approximately 850,000 workers are outside the tax net, some 36% of the workforce. In the context of the Finance Bill, the Minister for Finance will be ensuring that revenue is in line with the contribution this would make towards the social partnership process.

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