Vol. 533 No. 6
197 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Finance the effect of the abolition of the ceiling on PRSI for employers in a situation where a firm paying average to above average wages employs up to 100 employees; up to 200 employees; up to 300 employees; up to 400 employees; up to 500 employees; between 500-1,000 employees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9765/01]
I regret it is not possible to give a precise answer to the Deputy's question. Furthermore, I am advised it would be a complex and lengthy statistical exercise, which would be disproportionate on cost grounds to the information obtained, to extract information in relation to each individual employer across different sectors of industry by numbers employed .
Prior to its abolition, the employer PRSI contribution ceiling on employees' earnings was set at £36,600. Therefore, for employees earning up to this amount, which is twice the estimated average industrial wage, the measure to abolish the ceiling will have no effect on the payroll cost to employers. The impact of this change depends on the number of employees earning above this level of income.
