Irish finance minister sets out income tax plan, would raise minimum wage

Ireland's Finance Minister Michael Noonan attends an interview with Reuters at his office in central Dublin February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's senior coalition party will ensure high earners do not make "extravagant gains" from planned income tax cuts and also raise the minimum wage by 15 percent by 2021 if re-elected, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Sunday.

Ireland votes on Feb. 26 in what promises to be a tight contest dominated by debate over how the resources freed up by a strong economic recovery should be spent and how or whether an unpopular additional tax levied on income, the Universal Social Charge (USC), should be unwound.