Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if there are provisions in place to protect low income workers in construction, who are finding it increasingly difficult to pay contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27887/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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An employed contributor is broadly defined as a person over the age of 16 years and under pensionable age who is in insurable employment. Insurable employment means employment in the State under any contract of service or apprenticeship, written or oral, whether expressed or implied.

Employment contributions are calculated on employees reckonable earnings. For the purposes of collecting employment contributions under the PAYE/PRSI system reckonable earnings means anything assessable to income tax under Schedule E of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. This means that where an employee pays or is assessed for income tax they are simultaneously assessed for PRSI liability, and the appropriate deduction is made from their salary.

Insured workers are required to pay PRSI contributions based on their level of income. The vast majority of workers pay social insurance contributions at the PRSI Class A rate and accrue entitlement to the full range of social insurance benefits. Class A0 applies to all employees — including medical card holders and certain social welfare recipients who are normally employed under Class A but whose reckonable earnings are between €38 and €339 per week. On this basis an employee working about 4.5 hours per week at the minimum wage is gaining a PRSI credit and subsequent entitlement to social insurance benefits.

The recently published Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund, 2005, found that, in almost all circumstances, working people receive very good value-for-money from the Social Insurance Fund, based on current benefit and contribution rates. For this reason it is very much in the interests of the individual worker to ensure that their social insurance contribution records are maintained.

The recently published Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund, 2005, found that, in almost all circumstances, working people receive very good value-for-money from the Social Insurance Fund, based on current benefit and contribution rates. For this reason it is very much in the interests of the individual worker to ensure that their social insurance contribution records are maintained.