Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 148: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, as suggested by recent media reports and as set out in the programme for Government, she considered removing the cap on PRSI on incomes of more than €52,000; if she remains committed to fundamental reform of PRSI; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38827/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Under the PRSI system social insurance contributions are compulsorily payable by employers, employed and self-employed workers.

The employee PRSI ceiling is reviewed annually in accordance with the legislative stipulations of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005. The legislation requires that changes in the average earnings of workers, as recorded by the Central Statistics Office, be taken into account in this regard. In the 2009 Budget the employee ceiling was increased by €1,300 from €50,700 to €52,000, in line with projected increases in earnings for 2009.

The Department of Social and Family Affairs regularly examines the structure of the PRSI system, including issues relating to the ceiling. In this regard it may be noted that the Programme for Government commitments, which envisaged abolishing the PRSI ceiling and reducing the PRSI rate were predicated on an average growth rate of 4.5% per annum.

Any possible future changes to the PRSI ceiling and rates would have to be considered in a budgetary context.