I propose to take Questions Nos. 109, 114, 143 and 150 together.
Estimated costings were agreed between the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Department of Finance in relation to the PRSI commitments in the Programme for Government. These suggest that, were the commitments to be implemented in full, the cost to the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) would be €645 million, in 2006 terms, in a full year. However, it should be noted that, if introduced as a package, the combination of measures will give rise to a compound effect with an estimated overall impact in the order of €685m based on figures supplied by the consultants who carried out the Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund, 2005.
The Social Insurance Fund has sufficient resources to provide for the changes to the PRSI system and a rise in the number of benefit recipients. The effect over a five year period would be dependent on the sequencing of any changes to the PRSI rates. Obviously, however, decreasing contributions while the number of beneficiaries is rising will bring forward the time when exchequer subvention is required.
A key function of Government, accepting the role of the Exchequer as residual financier of the Fund, is to balance the need for contributions with liabilities — in an overall budgetary context; with any shortfall in the cost of benefits paid being, in the normal way, addressed by Exchequer subvention. If implemented, the Programme for Government proposals would not alter the fact that, between the Fund and the Exchequer, social insurance liabilities will be met. Their main effect would be to ease the cost of contributions on individual contributors and further strengthen the redistributive nature of the Fund.