Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Let us return to what is described as a pension-related deduction. I asked the Minister for a private briefing from him or his officials on whether this would be subject to tax relief. The Taoiseach said in his statement that the gross amount was €1.4 billion. My view, which I put to the Minister privately, was that it would have to be deductible for tax purposes. The statement by the Department of Finance on its website showed that it will be subject to tax deductions.

A difficulty arises in describing the exact nature of this measure. Is in an income levy or a pension levy? We have clear anomalies in the levy. A middle-ranking public servant who earns a middle-ranking salary will, after tax, have a lesser take on the net levy than a person at the lower end of the scale of Civil Service payments. That applies to both categories, whether one is pre-1995 or post-1995.

I asked the Taoiseach yesterday if a detailed paper could be published which sets out the different categories and how they will apply.

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