Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for attending and for taking some questions on the jobs initiative on which there has been a positive debate during the past few days. The levy on pension funds could be described as a wealth tax except that it does not appear to apply to the wealthy, instead it applies to ordinary workers, pensioners and the unemployed who may have pension funds. Will the Minister confirm the position in regard to approved retirement funds, ARFs, and whether they will be subject to this new levy on pension funds? I am sure people like Michael Fingleton with his €27 million pension fund would have channelled it through an ARF. It appears the Government's initiative exempts people like that from this levy while applying it to the unemployed, workers and pensioners. Will I ask the remainder of the questions I have or will I have an opportunity to ask them later?

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