David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment.

Yesterday, a somewhat broader amendment was tabled by Fianna Fáil which sought to insert, after "income", "in excess of €6,000", in other words, to disregard the first €6,000 of what would be termed unearned reckonable income. I opposed that because I believed unearned reckonable income should be subjected to PRSI but a number of the Fianna Fáil Senators yesterday made an interesting point about rental income in that a situation could arise where somebody has a second home they are renting out. They might get €500 or €600 a month in rental income but the mortgage on the property might be substantially more, yet they have to pay PRSI on whatever income they get, which would be unfair. While I did not support yesterday's amendment because I felt it was too broad, I would support the thrust of this amendment because it would be unacceptable for somebody to be making a loss on a property and then be asked to pay PRSI on that loss. That does not make sense to me. It should be on profit and any excess rather than a flat PRSI contribution on the rental income. It is a fair amendment and it should be accepted by the Minister.