Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)

A previous speaker referred to the article by Professor Morgan Kelly and, in that respect, it is possible to agree with an individual's analysis without agreeing to whatever solution they may wish to provide. There is often more than one way to provide a solution.

With regard to the debate on the jobs initiative and the Finance Bill, some 30 minutes were used to ask questions at the end but only ten minutes were available for replies. Unfortunately, however, we did not get answers to some of the questions posed. It would be great if the Minister of State could provide such answers.

One of the questions I wanted an answer to concerned whether or not the money being provided to finance the project is equitable. I pointed to the fact that the pension levy is a flat tax and income blind. The same rate will be applied to a person on €40,000 as to someone earning €500,000 and paying into the pension fund. A person who is struggling financially will have the same rate applied to them as a rich and powerful figure. Under the Government's system, many people at the top of the pensions pyramid may get away scot-free. Those on the bottom, however, will incur a higher imposition of this levy. It mirrors the impact of the universal social charge or USC, whereby those earning over €75,000 had the incidence of taxation reduced, while those below that figure had it increased.

I also asked about defined contributions and benefits. Will there be a difference in the incidence of this taxation between those two groups? Some people may pay as much as €2,000 over the period of the new tax, while others will pay nothing. Most families are trying to get by from day to day, as well as forecasting the money they will be surviving on in future. It is important that they should have some idea of how much it will cost them. We asked the Minister how much will be charged to each of those sectors. The Minister did not answer those questions but perhaps he did not have the information on the day. It would be interesting, however, if those questions could be answered in future.

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