Vol. 398 No. 6
5 Mr. Noonan (Limerick East) asked the Minister for Finance if the Government have dropped their plans to require civil servants and some other public servants to pay PRSI at the top rate; if the Government propose to extend full social insurance benefits to public servants; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
In the 1989 Budget Statement, I announced that the Government had decided in principle that the social insurance cover of public sector employees currently on modified PRSI rates should be extended. I also said that the Government intended to discuss these proposals with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, in keeping with the approach of the Programme for National Recovery, with a view to implementation on an agreed basis.
I referred to this matter again in this year's Budget Statement, and mentioned that my colleague, the Minister for Social Welfare, and I had commenced discussions with the interests involved. These discussions are continuing and, as I said in January last, we are hopeful of arriving at a mutally satisfactory resolution of the complex issues involved.
