Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware the Deputy raised this matter directly with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, at an earlier meeting. I am taking this Topical Issue matter on her behalf.

Social insurance coverage was extended to self-employed workers in 1988. Since then, self-employed workers whose income is €5,000 or more in a contribution year, are liable to pay a social insurance contribution at the class S rate of 4%, subject to a minimum annual payment of €500. Self-employed contributors are currently covered for a wide range of social insurance benefits, including the contributory State pension; the contributory widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension; the contributory guardian's payment; maternity, adoptive and paternity benefits; the invalidity pension; the partial capacity benefit, if in receipt of the invalidity pension; the self-employed jobseeker's benefit; and the parent's benefit.

The scope to the charge of self-employment social insurance contributions and the underlying nature of self-employment are wider than those that apply to contributions payable by employed contributors. A person is defined as a self-employed contributor on the basis of income received rather than economic activity. Unearned income falls within the scope of self-employment for social insurance purposes, both for the purposes of paying self-employment contributions and for establishing possible entitlements.

Drawdowns from the approved retirement fund are chargeable to income tax and are reckonable emoluments for social insurance purposes. The social insurance class S charge is deducted at source by fund managers for people aged under 66 years, or if the recipient of the distribution is a modified class contributor, the charge is recorded as class K.

The Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 provides that an application for the return of contributions shall be made within four years of the last day of the contribution year in respect of which the contributions were paid. I know the Deputy acknowledged this in his contribution about the case he raised. This timeframe is in line with the Revenue time limit for the refund of taxes. As is the case with tax refunds, there is no discretion within the governing legislation to allow contributions to be returned outside this limit.

See this speech in context