Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

As I indicated, €103.5 million will be raised through the change in the ceiling this year. Abolition of the ceiling would have to be seen in the context of all other financial measures introduced in the most recent budget including the income levy. The main aim of that budget with regard to income was to ensure that money was made available to the Exchequer. Any funding through PRSI would not go to the Exchequer but to the social insurance fund. It would not have resolved the main problem that we had for that budget. Raising the ceiling impacted severely on a number of workers and achieved at least the target of €103.5 million but it has to be seen in the overall context of the other measures introduced by the Department of Finance.

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