Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On section 2 of the Bill, which deals with the rate of charge in relation to USC, this is not the way the tax package should have been introduced and I will speak to this point more generally in respect of my own amendment. There absolutely was, however, a fairer way to do that. We in Sinn Féin have put on the record that if we have the opportunity to lead the next Government, we will exempt the first €45,000 of income that everybody in the State earns from the USC tax net. That means the average worker in the State will never have to pay the USC ever again under a Sinn Féin-led Government. That is the type of approach the Minister should have brought forward in this legislation and that measure should have been done in two steps. First, the threshold should have been set at €30,000 for the USC tax net and then moved to €45,000, which can be delivered within 18 months of a general election. That is something many people would welcome.

I refer to the effect of what the Minister has introduced in this section for somebody earning €30,000. I am mindful that the CSO tells us the average income in the State of all workers is €36,000 but if we exclude those who work seasonally or those who have to sign on in the summer months for different reasons, the median income is in the region of approximately €43,000. If we take the average of all workers, somebody on €30,000 would benefit through this section by €59. That is appalling and abysmal. If someone earns €40,000, they benefit by €159.

When I talked about the winners and losers, I said some people will get things out of this Bill and yes, some people will get €59 out of this Bill. If you are on €40,000, it will be €159. Compare that to the sections we probably will not even get to discuss. As I said, the people who run around with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and the people who have the gold-plated pensions will benefit. They will not benefit by €59 or €159 but will benefit to the tune of €320,000 as a tax cut. I am talking about the lowest-income workers, for whom the Minister could have done something meaningful. I ask the Minister, in respect of this legislation, what is the trajectory of USC?

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