More than 1.25 million claims were made for dental, optical and hearing benefits in 2018.

You would think it would be obvious, whether a person is an employee or self-employed. So why should the employment minister be running a campaign to raise awareness about false self-employment in Ireland?

More than 2.5m PRSI contributors are now entitled to a range of subsidised dental treatments and optical services.

The Government still plans to merge the USC with PRSI and alter tax levels for low-and middle-income earners despite Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin warning there is not enough money to do both and that it breaches the minority government deal.

Employers and unions agree that ringfencing a portion of corporate tax or business profits could be a better way to bolster higher education funding than a government proposal to increase employers’ PRSI.

Fine Gael has announced plans for a new levy on incomes over €100,000 - to balance out the effects of scrapping USC.

Labour have promised to reduce taxes for workers on €25,000 by as much as a third if returned to power as part of a €3bn tax reform package.

The Health Minister, Leo Varadkar, has signalled the Government may back down on plans for Universal Health Insurance, and provide refunds for GP and dentist visits instead.

The Government is being warned not to cut employer's PRSI in return for an increase in the minimum wage.

A targeted tax credit for firms employing fewer than 10 people could create 80,000 new jobs at no net cost to the exchequer and reduce the current unemployment rate to 6%.

A government minister says the tax system is unfair because county councillors pay PRSI but don't get any benefits.