Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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664. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will explore the option of temporarily reducing the lower rate of employer PRSI from 8.5% to 4.25%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24504/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Currently, employers pay PRSI at the rate of 8.5% where weekly earnings are between €38 and €376. Once weekly earnings exceed €376, the rate of employer PRSI is 10.75%. The upper threshold for the 8.5% rate of employer PRSI was increased from €356 to €376 from 1 January 2016, to take account of the increase in the minimum hourly wage. This measure benefitted over 26,000 employers with employees earning between €356 and €376 per week. The full-year cost of this measure was €6.7 million. It is estimated that the full year cost of reducing the lower rate of employer PRSI from 8.5% to 4.25% would be €158.5m and would affect 678,400 employments. This estimate is based on the latest available data and reflects macro-economic indicators for 2017. It should be noted that the estimate does not take possible changes in employer or employee behaviour into account.

Any reductions would have to be considered in a budgetary context.