Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 50: To ask the Minister for Finance the increase in the number of persons who will become subject to income tax as a consequence of the increase in the minimum wage. [13299/05]

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 113: To ask the Minister for Finance if the Government is committed to keeping those on the national minimum wage out of the tax net; the number of persons on the national minimum wage who are expected to be brought back into the tax net as a result of the increase to €7.65 per hour approved by the Labour Court being implemented; the steps he intends to take to remove these low earners from the tax net; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13350/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 50 and 113 together.

It was this Government that introduced the minimum wage to protect low paid workers and it was this Government which, over the last eight budgets, removed a record number of about 460,000 workers from the tax net entirely. In addition, from 1 May 2005, when the increased wage takes effect, we will have one of the highest minimum wages in the European Union, second only to Luxembourg. Since its introduction in April 2000, the minimum wage has increased by almost 37%, taking account of the latest increase.

The present entry point to income tax is €14,250 per annum for a single person aged under 65 years. The Revenue Commissioners provisionally estimate that there will be roughly 37,000 income earners in an income range which would bring them into the tax net if their annual earnings reflected fully the increase in the national minimum wage. However, this group will of necessity include part-time workers earning more than the minimum hourly wage and certain pensioners whose earnings are in the equivalent range. The 37,000 should, therefore, be seen as the upper band for any estimate of the number who may ultimately come into the tax net on a full year basis as a result of the minimum wage increase. The provisions included in next December's budget will also be relevant in this context.