Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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161. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will bring forward legislation to amend the universal social charge rates payable on 1 January 2015. [35303/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Universal Social Charge (USC) was introduced in Budget 2011 to replace the Income Levy and the Health Levy. It was a necessary measure to widen the tax base, remove poverty traps and raise revenue to reduce the budget deficit. It is a more sustainable charge than those it replaced.  It is applied at a low rate on a wide base, and the revenues collected play a vital part in meeting the many expenditure demands placed on the Exchequer.

As a result of a review of the USC conducted by my Department in 2011, the Government decided in Budget 2012 to increase the entry point to the Universal Social Charge from €4,004 to €10,036 per annum. It is estimated that this removed almost 330,000 individuals from the charge.

With Budget 2015 only three weeks away, I am not prepared to be drawn into speculation on budgetary matters at this time. However, I will say that as part of the normal budgetary preparations, my officials are currently examining potential options for changes to the tax system for my consideration as part of the overall Budget package.