Michael Noonan has said it is NOT the government's policy to scrap USC for all earners.

He says people above a certain wage will be hit by a claw-back system where any gains they make will be lost in other charges.

The comments have been seized on by the opposition, who say it's a direct contradiction of what the minister said on Budget day - when he promised the government would "progressively abolish" the charge.

The scrapping of the "hated USC" has regularly been promised by Enda Kenny, though Labour had opposed the elimination and wanted it retained for those on higher salaries.

Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report for Today FM's National Lunchtime News: