Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

There are two issues. The Deputy rightly referred to money. The contribution would have to be 14.75%. The other problem is that, for example, people in employment can receive payments such as short term illness benefit after three days even though they are not at work. One is not allowed to receive the payment if one is attending one's place of work.

If one is laid off work, one can immediately sign on for unemployment benefit. It would be very difficult to monitor that in a self-employed situation and it would impose huge practical difficulties. As I said in the reply, in most European countries, there are differences between self-employed and employed on that basis.

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