Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)

I agree with the Minister's last point but the answer is surely not to solve the problem by loading more costs on the backs of employers, which will inevitably create more unemployment and put more pressure on the social insurance fund. The Minister said in reply to question No. 2 that one of the centrepieces of the Government's employment strategy is the halving, in certain instances, of employer's PRSI. If this is the centrepiece of its policy for creating jobs, does any proposal to increase PRSI, for whatever reason, not fly in the face of it?

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