THE Progressive Democrats have reacted angrily to assertions by the Democratic Left leader, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, that they "propose to do away with the social insurance system".
The party's finance spokesman, Mr Michael McDowell, last night "appealed" to the media "not to give the oxygen of publicity to entirely dishonest scaremongering smear tactics" from Mr De Rossa.
The row arose as the Democratic Left manifesto was announced yesterday afternoon. Mr De Rossa claimed the Progressive Democrats' measures were tantamount to abolition and were "nonnegotiable".
According to the Democratic Left proposals, social insurance was "an expression of social solidarity between workers and employers, between workers at different income levels and between different generations". Democratic Left wanted to maintain and develop the system and did not propose any specific change in the PRSI rates or income ceilings.
The proposal to increase the £80 per week PRSI free allowance over the next five years was tentative and subject to revision.
The Progressive Democrats who publish their manifesto today, want to reduce employees' PRSI to zero. A spokesman for the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern, said he was committed to the maintenance and "integrity" of the Social Insurance Fund which pays for the range of benefits available through the system.
Speaking yesterday, Mr De Rossa insisted the Progressive Democrats wanted to "do away" with the social insurance system. In January they had issued a policy document which, he claimed, said they would abolish the system, do away with employee contributions and put employer contributions into a payroll tax.
"That is their policy," Mr De Rossa said.
People paid PRSI contributions and, in return, received maternity benefit, disability benefits, invalidity or unemployment benefits or a contributory pension when they were old. It was part and parcel of the labour market system but the Progressive Democrats were the only party that wanted its abolition.
The net results of the "conundrum" they had devised was means testing for pensions, he claimed.
However, strongly rejecting Mr De Rossa's assertions, Mr McDowell said his party intended to bring the employee PRSI rate down to "nil".
Under the PD plan, workers would retain their full rights to contributory pensions and contributions made under the RSI numbers and their pension rights would be "as solid as ever".
"Minister De Rossa is engaging in a desperate effort to smear the Progressive Democrats in suggesting that pension entitlements depend on employee contributions."
Employee PRSI had been cut in the last three budgets - at a significant cost to the Social Insurance Fund - but this did not imply any threat to pensions, Mr McDowell said.