Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

The pension levy proposal has already been mired in controversy in several ways. Sinn Féin believes it is a flat tax and income blind. In other words, those who are rich and those struggling will still be taxed at the same level. Moreover, as reported in the media, those at the very top of the earnings scale, such as company directors, will be exempt from the levy. It reminds me of the universal social charge where low and middle-income earners saw their contributions increase while those earning over €75,000 saw their incomes decrease. There is also confusion about defined contribution pensions and defined benefit pensions. Given these inequalities and controversy, is this levy the new Government's example of the medical card for the over 70s?

It also seems some people will be charged more than €2,000 over the period of this charge, as well as different charges applying across the board. Will the Minister explain what each sector will be charged?

Will the Minister guarantee this charge is constitutional, as some reports have suggested otherwise? Given that the Minister for Finance has now set a precedent for taxing retrospective incomes, does he intend to broaden the scope of such levies?

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