Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 193: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, in respect of people who are in receipt of disability allowance, they automatically become entitled to the contributory State pension; if not, if they can make arrangements to pay PRSI contributions during their lifetime in order that they will have an entitlement to the contributory State pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40442/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Eligibility for the State (Contributory) Pension is determined by an individuals PRSI contribution history. The standard qualifying conditions for contributory pensions require a person to enter insurance 10 years prior to pension age, pay a minimum of 260 contributions at the correct rate, and achieve a yearly average of at least 10 contributions on their record from the time that they enter insurance until they reach pension age. As signalled in 2002 and provided in the SW Acts, the minimum number of contributions required will increase from 260 to 510 from 2012.

Individuals in receipt of Disability Allowance are only eligible to apply for the State (Contributory) Pension, at age 66, if they started paying social insurance contributions before reaching the age of 56. They are not liable to pay PRSI contributions but may be eligible for credited social insurance contributions if they have paid at least one PRSI contribution and have paid or credited contributions in either of the last two income tax years before a claim was made for Disability Allowance. Credited contributions are only awarded to those people who were employed contributors, as opposed to self-employed contributors, reflecting differences between the nature of employment and self-employment.

Alternatively, individuals may be eligible to pay voluntary contributions in order to maintain their contribution record and subsequent entitlement to the State (Contributory) Pension. In order to be admitted to the voluntary contributions scheme, a person must have a minimum of 260 weeks of PRSI paid in either employment or self-employment and apply within 12 months of their past paid contribution. The requirement to have 260 paid contributions to gain access to the scheme is essential in that it ensures that the requisite number of paid contributions required is in place to establish a contributory pension entitlement.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 194: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if supplementary welfare payment will be granted to a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40557/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE). Apart from a number of excluded categories, anyone in the State who satisfies a habitual residency condition and a means test, has registered for employment, unless they have a physical or mental disability, and can prove unemployment may qualify for a weekly payment of SWA. A number of categories are specifically excluded from receiving SWA i.e. people in full-time work, people in full-time education and people involved in trade disputes. A person is considered to be in full-time education if he/she is attending a course of study as specified under section 148 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005.

The person concerned was in receipt of SWA and rent supplement while his claim for Jobseeker's allowance (JA) was pending. The community welfare officer has advised that when the person concerned was last asked in August 2008 to provide evidence of his efforts to obtain employment, he advised that he was a student in full time education. No evidence of efforts to obtain employment was produced. Payment of SWA was terminated on the basis that students in full time education are excluded from receiving assistance under the SWA scheme and that the person concerned is not genuinely seeking work.

The person concerned was advised of his right to appeal the decision to the designated Appeals Officer of the Executive. To date, the Executive have not received an appeal from the person concerned. An appeal by the person concerned against a decision to refuse JA was not upheld by an Appeals Officer.