The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, indicated yesterday that reducing the top rate of tax will not be a priority in the forthcoming Budget.
Widening the tax bands and increasing allowances to ensure that people on modest incomes will not be paying tax at 46 per cent will be the focus, said Mr Ahern.
Speaking at the end of Fianna Fail's two-day seminar in Galway, Mr Ahern said the only major problem in the Irish tax system was that people classified as being on moderate incomes were going straight on to the top rate of tax.
While he stressed that the commitment in the Programme for Government to reduce the top tax rate would still be honoured in the lifetime of the Government, the Taoiseach said there would be no rush to "pull down" the top tax rate.
"The issue is that people on low incomes are paying too much of their salary at the top rate. We should be trying progressively over the next number of years to try and make sure people are paying as little of their salary as possible at the higher rate," he said.
The Programme for Government promises to bring the top rate of tax down to 42 per cent and to 40 per cent if economic circumstances allow. "What is in the Programme for Government is still there, and we will have to get to that, but it is not a priority," he said.
"The rate argument is no longer really an issue, and most of my colleagues would feel that 46 per cent is not an unreasonable rate for people to be paying to provide modern services.
"We have our commitments in our programme to continue to bring it down slowly."
The Taoiseach added: "I don't think you can make the argument that a person on £100,000 a year in the Irish economy who benefits from the services can be expecting to have tax rates at 40 per cent." Mr Ahern described the Fine Gael proposal to introduce a middle tax rate of 35 per cent as "a nonsense".
Meanwhile, Mr Ahern reiterated the Government's strong stand on public sector pay rises and said there would be no climbdown in relation to the nurses' pay demand.
Mr Ahern said the Government would publish Bills in the new Dail session, including the Children's Bill which will include a provision to increase the age of criminal responsibility from seven to 12.
"This is very important legislation in terms of all that has happened in the children's area in recent years," he said.
The Broadcasting Bill and the Mental Health Bill will also be published. Mr Ahern said it was hoped the Planning Bill would be law by Easter to start freeing up land for housing development.