Charlie McCreevy
Question:39 Mr. McCreevy asked the Minister for Finance his views on the report by the Conference of Religious of Ireland entitled Socio-Review for 1995; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1579/95]
Written Answers. - Report of Conference of Religious of Ireland.
The main proposal in the document referred to by the Deputy is to replace the existing tax and social welfare systems with a partial basic income and a single tax rate of 50 per cent. While such proposals seem interesting on the face of it, I think that further study on the question would need to be undertaken before such a radical change could be considered. In particular, the effect of the proposals on the labour market and on persons on different income levels would have to be examined.
In addition, there are some questions on the tax base used in the study and on the legal implications of the changes in the uses of EU funds suggested. I know that the Conference of Religious in Ireland are anxious to address these issues and I look forward to seeing the results of their study in these areas. On the Government's part, the question of basic income is one of the questions which is being addressed by the Expert Working Group on the Integration of the Tax and Social Welfare Systems which will be reporting during 1995.
I compliment CORI for their employment initiative last year, The part-time job opportunities programme, which they explained to me when I met them, has been very successful on the ground.