John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 409: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the social welfare entitlements of a person (details supplied) in County Sligo will be given for the full eight years rather than the five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40715/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Special arrangements have been in place to protect the social welfare rights of Volunteer Development Workers (VDWs) since 1983. VDWs can qualify for credited contributions in respect of a period spent working in a developing country and any preparatory period before hand. These credited contributions enable the workers to qualify for short-term benefits on their return from their overseas development work and support their accrued entitlement towards long-term benefits.

In order to qualify for the credited contributions, a volunteer development worker must satisfy the following criteria:

be over 16 years of age,

be resident in the State immediately prior to taking up the employment overseas, and

be employed under conditions of remuneration similar to those applied in the developing country.

Although the individual in question has worked overseas for a period of eight years the maximum number of years for which any individual can claim VDW credits is five. The maximum amount of 260 VDW credits has been added to the individual's contribution record. There are no plans to extend the scheme beyond the current five year duration.