Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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121. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who have benefitted from the tapering of PRSI introduced in budget 2016; the average benefit received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12284/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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From 1 January 2016, a new tapering credit was introduced for PRSI Class A and Class H employees earning between €352.01 and €424.00 per week. In the case of employees earning €352 or less, PRSI is still not chargeable.

The maximum weekly PRSI credit of €12.00 applies at gross earning of €352.01 and reduces the PRSI charge from €14.08 to €2.08. As earnings increase the maximum weekly PRSI credit of €12.00 is reduced by one-sixth of weekly earnings in excess of €352.01.

The tapering PRSI credit reduces the employee PRSI charge in a progressive manner, for weekly earnings between €352.01 and €424.00. It ensured that workers, who enter the PRSI net because of the increase in the minimum hourly wage from €8.65 to €9.15, do not face an excessive weekly employee PRSI charge.

It is estimated that the introduction on the PRSI Credit will benefit 88,369 employments in 2016. The benefit for individual employees depends on the level of their weekly earnings. It should be noted that the new measures also benefit employees who earn more than the minimum wage (perhaps substantially more) but who work for less than a full week.

The following table details the numbers of employments and the extent of their weekly gains, at different income bands: