Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

At this stage of the Minister's quest to bring this scheme forward, is it the case that, in light of the dissent that is obvious within the ranks of Government backbenchers and among some of her Cabinet colleagues, the saving involved has been watered down by half? What is being proposed does not go far enough. It is not enough to state that everything will be categorised. How is it proposed to categorise the scheme? Will a table be produced - well in advance of any decisions the Minister might make - which will give an indication of who exactly is going to be lumped with paying this?

I return to my initial point that this is merely taxation by the back door. What provision will be made in respect of PRSI contributions, over and above those statutorily required, for self-employed people whose businesses might fail and who may need to claim benefits from the Department?

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