THE Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, has warned that cuts in employers' Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) to compensate for competitive pressures could be "self defeating".
"Employers benefit massively from the coverage which PRSI provides through sick payments, redundancy and maternity - coverage which they would have to carry at much greater cost," he said in a statement.
A discussion document on the development of PRSI will be published shortly. The Minister was prepared to consider restructuring and reform: "However, this Government is committed to the retention of social insurance payments by employers and employees as the basic structure of the system."
