Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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412. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will confirm the employer PRSI at the lower rate will return to 8.5% from January 2014 at the expiry of the special rate of 4.25%. [46373/13]

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Independent)
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484. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider reversing the increase to PRSI for lower paid workers from 4.25% to 8.5% if job growth stalls or unemployment for that grouping rises; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45946/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 412 and 484 together.

The halving of the 8.5% employer rate to 4.25% was implemented on a 2½ year time limited basis, as part of the Jobs Initiative, to apply from 1 July 2011 until 31 December 2013. The 4.25% employer PRSI rate currently applied to employees with weekly earnings of €356 or less will therefore revert to the original 8.5% rate from 1 January 2014. This is already provided for in legislation.

Retaining the 4.25% rate in 2014 would reduce the expected PRSI yield to the Social Insurance Fund by €195 million in a full year. As the reversion of the Employer PRSI rate to 8.5% is provided for in legislation, it has already been built into the PRSI income base for 2014 and subsequent years.