Charlie McCreevy (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I referred to this matter when dealing with amendments in the other House and referred to the Government's clear policy in regard to exempting those on the minimum wage from taxation. An Agreed Programme for Government set out the achievement of this objective as a priority over the next five years but this is subject to the overarching requirement for sound economic and fiscal policies and keeping the public finances in order. The Sustaining Progress agreement endorsed this approach and provides that "to the extent that there is any scope for personal tax reductions, progress will continue to be made over the three budgets contained within the life time of this agreement towards removing those on the minimum wage from the tax net". This is entirely consistent with the Government's broader economic strategy of sustaining economic growth, strengthening and maintaining the competitive position of the economy and sustaining employment.