Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I will deal with each of the five paragraphs in Deputy Shortall's amendment. On the insurance company issue, I gave an undertaking on Committee Stage to begin the process of consultation on the question of requiring insurance companies to compensate the Minister for illness or disability payments where they have admitted liability and where the value of social welfare entitlements are deducted from the gross claim settlement. However, as I also said on Committee Stage, it should be noted that such a system has been set up in the United Kingdom and that in 2007 to 2008 and 2008 to 2009 it raised £142 million and £138 million respectively. Allowing that we are a similar jurisdiction and that Ireland's population is about one tenth that of the UK, it would indicate a saving here of approximately €14 million. In a similar proposal, a figure of €88 million was mentioned. I wish that amount could be raised, but it is unclear how that figure was arrived at. I have given an undertaking to begin a process of consultation with the interested parties and I will honour that undertaking.

With regard to the PRSI changes, Deputies will be aware that the Minister for Finance, in the 2010 budget, announced that it was his objective to introduce, in 2011, a new system of just two charges on income. A universal social contribution would replace PRSI and the health and income levies. In that context, those issues will be examined. I thank Deputy Shortall for bringing them to my attention and I will feed her suggestions into the process.

Regarding mortgage interest supplement, I told the House yesterday that we will be bringing the report on this matter forward in the next few weeks. The Cooney report and the mortgage interest supplement report will come forward together. We are at end game on this issue. The kind of issue raised in the amendment is under consideration in that report.

See this speech in context