Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The advisory group found that the current system of means-tested jobseeker’s allowance payments, to which the Deputy refers, adequately covers the self-employed. I am not sure that many people appreciate the point that almost nine out of every ten self-employed people who claimed the means-tested jobseeker’s allowance during the three-year period from 2009 to 2011 received payment. Many of those would have been working in construction or allied trades. A very high percentage of those who applied for jobseeker’s allowance got it. The group recommended the extension of social insurance cover for self-employed people who are permanently out of work through long-term illness or incapacity. It recommended a compulsory basis rather than an opt-in or out system because for social insurance one needs national cover. The contribution rate for the self-employed is 4% for the important benefits they get, whereas the contribution for people in employment, through the employer’s and their own contribution, is close to 15%. If self-employed people wanted the full range of cover they would have to contribute 15%.

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