Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I take it from the Minister's reply that he is endeavouring to introduce a safety net for self-employed who fall ill or whose businesses collapse in the same way as employees have the jobseeker's benefit or illness benefit. The tenor of the reply appears to indicate that he will do this on a compulsory basis. I acknowledge that is what the advisory group recommended but I disagree respectfully with the recommendation. However, is the Minister aware that countries such as Denmark, Germany, France, and Spain and even in recent EU entrants such as Lithuania and Romania have a voluntary system whereby if self-employed people wish to pay additional contributions, they will be included and nobody is compelled to enter the scheme? There is not a compulsory additional tax on the self-employed as a whole but those who want to sign up to the scheme are allowed to do so.

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