Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I do not propose to accept the amendment. Credited PRSI contributions are an integral part of the social insurance system. The primary purpose of PRSI credits is to secure social welfare benefits and pensions of insured workers by covering gaps in insurance where workers are not in a position to pay PRSI, such as during periods of unemployment, illness or caring. In order to qualify for social insurance credits, a person must have previously worked and paid PRSI at an ordinary or modified rate of contribution, must have paid or credited contributions in the last two contribution years and must show evidence of underlying entitlement to the contingency giving rise to the credited contribution, namely, illness, unemployment, maternity, etc.

Under the current statutory provisions governing the award of credited contributions, recipients of the carer's allowance may be awarded credits if they switch to that payment from another credit bearing payment, for example, a jobseeker's allowance. There is also provision for the award of credits to claimants of carer's allowance who have left insurable employment to engage in caring duties. The award of credits is subject to certain conditions. For example, when a person has no paid or credited contributions for a period of two years, they cannot be awarded further credits until 26 contributions are paid. In recognition of their caring role, this rule will be waived where claimants of carer's allowance were eligible for homemaker's disregards immediately prior to claiming carer's allowance.

Recipients of carer's allowance who are not entitled to credits may be eligible for homemaker's disregards, which preserve the carer's entitlement for contributory pension purposes. The homemaker's scheme provides that contribution years spent working in the home while caring on a full-time basis for a child up to 12 years of age or an incapacitated person will be disregarded in calculating a person's yearly average number of contributions for old age contributory pension purposes. The provisions apply for the contribution year commencing on 6 April 1994 and up to 20 contribution years may be disregarded. In addition, the homemaker's scheme provides for homemaker's credits to be awarded for the balance of the tax year in which the person leaves the workforce and from the beginning of the tax year to the date of re-entering employment. It is worth noting that recipients of carer's allowance can engage in employment or self-employment for up to 15 hours per week and still be eligible for payment. This applies to those who do not pay PRSI contributions on the same basis as all other employed people.