Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The manifesto on which the Taoiseach won the internal Fine Gael election included a promise that, "Rather than abolishing the Universal Social Charge (USC) outright, we will merge the USC and PRSI into a new single Social Insurance payment". The programme for Government states something different: "To make Ireland’s personal taxation system more competitive, we will ask the Oireachtas to continue to phase out the USC as part of a wider medium-term income tax reform plan". The Fine Gael manifesto states, "Completing the abolition of the USC over a 5-year period as part of a wider reform of the tax system that keeps the tax base broad and limits the benefits for the highest earners". There are clearly three contradictory positions. Will the Minister outline to the House which of them is his position?

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