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

I ask the Minister for clarification. I know the advisory committee on extending benefits to the self-employed recommended that they be extended in cases of illness but not where the business simply fails and that a self-employed person should be entitled to jobseeker's benefit. Did I hear the Minister say he intends to extend benefits in both directions? Businesses can fail because somebody gets ill but they can also fail because they can fail. We are trying to encourage people to go into business. This means there should be some sort of a social protection underpinning guaranteed income for them if the business fails. Does he intend to extend this beyond illness benefit to jobseeker's benefit?

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