Brian Keegan: A long goodbye to the USC is upon us

Paschal Donohoe’s announcement of the USC merger with PRSI is putting the cost cart before the entitlements horse

Paschal Donohoe: hoping to integrate the USC into PRSI Picture: Fergal Phillips

So it seems that the universal social charge is not to be abolished after all. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe stated in the Dáil last week that his long-term view of the USC is to see its integration into the existing PRSI code. The comments were met with predictable political attacks, mostly focusing on previous government undertakings to abolish the USC altogether. Nevertheless, Donohoe’s views reflect the original idea behind the USC when ...