Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thought there was. I thank the Minister for that information. Clarity is required on the rules for entitlement to family income supplement. I ask the Minister to set out the circumstances in which a claimant who is living apart from his or her spouse or civil partner and children can still claim the supplement. That area needs to be clarified.

I welcome changes in section 10 in respect of the application of an habitual residence condition for entitlement to certain social welfare payments. It is timely for this matter to be examined.

Section 16 is a welcome measure for self-employed people as it extends social assistance cover to help spouses, civil partners or self-employed contributors. The social welfare code currently excludes from social insurance cover certain relatives, including spouses, civil partners or self-employed contributors who are participating in the person's business and performing the same or ancillary tasks. The Bill provides for the extension of social insurance to those spouses or civil partners where their annual self-employed income is within certain limits. The limits are small enough but that measure is important for family businesses where this matter is a huge issue. People may work night and day, using might and main, to try to keep a business afloat, although it is very difficult to do so. There should be, therefore, some cover for those people.

I welcome the move concerning self-employed PRSI. People with a reckonable annual income in excess of €5,000 will pay class S PRSI of 4% on all income, including unearned income, subject to a minimum annual contribution of €500. It might be a big sum if one does not have a lot of work, but none the less the Minister's efforts to change that position is important. We have cried out for such a change since the onset of the recession as so many self-employed persons have gone out of business through no fault of their own. They might have been employing ten or 20 people in the good times. Their employees, including tradesmen, all receive PRSI cover, and rightly so. However, the employer who was brave enough to take the initiative and create work gets nothing. That is very unfair, so I am delighted to see that the 2010 review will now take that into account. It is a welcome step.

I welcome the Bill's measures. The Minister has reassured me about the first issue I raised, so I thank her for that. I wish the Bill well in its passage through the House.

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