Vol. 493 No. 2
151 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the estimated revenue foregone by his Department in 1998 as a result of the introduction of the £100 per week exemption limit for class A PRSI payers. [15504/98]
152 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the estimated revenue foregone by his Department in 1998 as a result of the recent reduction in the rate of PRSI from 5.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent for class A payers. [15505/98]
154 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the estimated revenue foregone by his Department in 1998 as a result of the PRSI allowance of £20 per week for modified PRSI payers. [15507/98]
158 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the amount of the estimated revenue foregone by his Department in 1998 as a result of the reduction in the full rate of PRSI for employers from 12.33 per cent in 1987 to 12 per cent in 1998. [15512/98]
159 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reduced yield if the annual upper limit for employees' PRSI was £19,450 instead of £27,900. [15513/98]
160 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reduced yield if the annual upper limit for the employers' PRSI was £19,450 instead of £29,000. [15514/98]
161 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the estimated revenue foregone by his Department in 1998 as a result of the lower rate of PRSI for employers of 8.5 per cent on the first £270 per week earned by employees compared with the revenue that would accrue if the full rate applied. [15515/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 151, 152, 154, 158, 159, 160 and 161 together.
153 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the estimated yield to his Department in 1998 as a result of the loss of pay related benefit to class A contributors. [15506/98]
Pay related benefit (PRB) was phased out as basic rates of payments were improved. PRB was discontinued for all insured workers in relation to new claims for disability benefit and injury benefits, where applicable, made after 6 April 1992. PRB was discontinued for all insured workers in relation to new claims for unemployment benefit made after 21 July 1994. PRB continued to be payable with claims which were already in payment on the dates in question.
Prior to its phasing out, the criteria for calculating PRB varied over the years so there is no reliable basis for calculating PRB in 1998 if the scheme were still in existence.
However, actual PRB expenditure since 1990 is set down in the following table.
|
Year |
Expenditure (£000) |
|
1990 |
19,793 |
|
1991 |
22,502 |
|
1992 |
24,160 |
|
1993 |
20,143 |
|
1994 |
16,066 |
|
1995 |
3,764 |
|
1996 |
49 |
|
1997 |
1 |
155 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the yield in 1998 from the self-employed PRSI payers. [15508/98]
156 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the estimated revenue foregone by his Department in 1998 as a result of the PRSI allowance of £20 per week for self-employed PRSI payers. [15509/98]
157 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the amount of revenue foregone by his Department as a result of the self-employed paying only 5 per cent rather than 7 per cent PRSI, in view of the independent actuaries estimate that the self-employed should pay 7 per cent PRSI for the social welfare pensions they will be entitled to in the future. [15511/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 155, 156 and 157 together.
The information sought by the Deputy is outlined below.
The estimated yield in 1998 of PRSI payable by the self-employed (PRSI class S) is £125 million.
The estimated social insurance fund income foregone as a result of the £20 per week PRSI free allowance which applies to class S contributors is £1.8 million in a full year.
It is estimated that, if the rate of class S PRSI was 7 per cent as distinct from 5 per cent, the extra yield would be £50 million in a full year.
I am not aware of a specific recommendation by an independent actuary that the appropriate rate for the self-employed should be 7 per cent. However, the National Pensions Board in its final report in 1993 recommended that the appropriate rate for self-employed contributors should be 7.6 per cent, with a minority recommending lower rates. Any change in the current rate can only be considered in the context of overall budgetary policy and the economic climate generally.
