Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

From next year there will be a shortfall in the social insurance budget so it would impact on it. I smiled when the Minister mentioned solidarity in the social insurance system. If one takes account of the large cash transfers that are taking place by way of tax relief on private pensions, there would not be too much solidarity to speak about. One must consider the wider picture.

With regard to PRSI, it came to my attention recently that certain streams of income are not subject to PRSI and certain anomalies exist. If a self-employed person has a rental income he or she must pay PRSI on it but if an employed person has rental income he or she does not have to pay PRSI. Is the Minister aware of this anomaly and does she intend to deal with it? It would make more sense to target those anomalies rather than hitting the Christmas bonus if she wanted to make savings in the social welfare system.

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