In the forthcoming budget, will serious prioritisation be given to reducing the personal income tax burden on householders? As far as I am concerned, we live in an economy that has far too high of a burden of personal income tax on people who are working hard and are trying to put bread on the table and to keep the lights and heat on. Certainly, there is an opportunity to reduce the burden of the universal social charge and to look at bands and the potential introduction of a third rate. Is this a priority of the Government as we approach the budget?

There will be an income tax package in the budget. It will be the largest income tax reduction package in any budget for quite a number of years. I guarantee the Deputy it will never go as far as we want it to go, which is always the case, but it will be significant and, of course, the objective is to make sure that people get to keep more of their own hard-earned money and especially that people on middle incomes do not see any pay increase, overtime or increment that they get mostly being lost to tax, PRSI and the universal social charge, USC. The shape of that has to be decided but it will form part of the budget and the help that we will provide people to help them with the rising cost of living.