Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

At present, it is necessary to have made 13 paid contributions in the relevant tax year to qualify for illness benefit. However, this condition does not exist for jobseeker's benefit, with the result that people who may not have paid PRSI contributions in the past number of years can qualify. Again, it is considered that this position does not adequately reflect the contribution-based rationale for social insurance. Therefore, from next January, new claimants for jobseeker's benefit will be required to satisfy the same conditions as those on illness benefit and must have paid 13 contributions in the relevant tax year.

The other two changes being made to jobseeker's benefit relate to the duration of the payment. At present, people who have 260 or more paid social insurance contributions can receive jobseeker's benefit for up to 15 months. As of today, this is being limited to 12 months for current claimants with less than six months duration on the scheme, as well as for all new claimants.

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