Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 4, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following new section:

"4.—This section shall allow for the abolition of the current PRSI ceiling and will come into operation on 1 May 2009.".

In their recent contributions, Government Members have begun to use the language that I and other Members on this side of the House use, with references to "fairness" and an acknowledgement that those who can afford to pay more should do so and that those who can ill afford to pay should contribute less. Unfortunately, while the Government talks the talk, it does not walk the walk. I acknowledge that the Government has proposed a significant increase in the PRSI threshold to some €75,000. This is a step in the right direction in ensuring that those who can pay more will do so. However, the measure should have gone further. That is why my amendment No. 4 seeks to abolish the ceiling. Moreover, in our pre-budget submission, Sinn Féin advocated a 1% increase in PRSI across the board in order to strengthen social insurance provision.

Let us consider some of the measures introduced by the Government in the budget. The early child care supplement, for example, has been reduced and will be abolished from January 2009. The social welfare Christmas bonus has been withdrawn and the jobseeker's allowance will be halved for those under 20 years of age. When we complain about these cutbacks, the Government asks where we would find the money to allow them to be reversed. We have been explaining for some time how this can be done. If tax relief on pensions were standardised, there would be a saving of €1 billion in a full year. This is just one example of how savings can be made in a more equitable way. This amendment offers another constructive proposal. We can recall the Government allocating €15 million to National Toll Roads to build a bridge on the M50 before, some years later, buying it back for €600 million. However, there is no point in going over all such instances of wastage. We would never get an opportunity to discuss this amendment if we did so.

It is important that the PRSI ceiling should be removed. This change will impinge only on those who can afford to make a larger contribution. Any person whose income is in excess of €75,000 can withstand full liability for PRSI.

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