Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Question 436: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will intervene in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [3225/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Spouses who are actively engaged in a commercial partnership, including the operation of a farm, as opposed to simply being the joint owners of a property, are treated as individual self-employed contributors. In these cases both spouses are liable to pay PRSI (Class S) contributions in a timely manner.

On foot of a Programme for Government commitment an information leaflet, 'Working with your spouse: how it affects your social welfare contributions and entitlements', has been developed between the Department of Social & Family Affairs and the Revenue Commissioners to set out the social welfare and tax implications of families co-working in a shared business. It was published on the 25th of June, 2008. The leaflet clarifies that spouses who operate in a commercial partnership may be brought into the social insurance system, subject to certain criteria. In this way, both spouses incur a liability to pay self-employed PRSI and build up entitlement towards a contributory state pension and other social welfare benefits. It is open to a person to apply for recognition of a commercial partnership, at any time. The qualifying conditions for State Pension (Contributory) require the applicant to:- have entered insurable employment before attaining the age of 56 years; - have at least 260 paid contribution weeks since entry into insurance; - satisfy the yearly average condition.

In addition, Section 110 (1) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 provides that a self-employed contributor shall not be regarded as satisfying the qualifying conditions unless: (a) the person has paid self-employment contributions in respect of at least one contribution year before attaining pensionable age, and (b) all self-employment contributions payable by him or her have been paid.

According to the records of this Department, the self-employment contributions were all paid by the person concerned after their 66th birthday. The person concerned does not therefore satisfy the condition at (a) above and has no entitlement to a State Pension (Contributory) based on her self-employment contributions. However she has an entitlement to a State Pension (Contributory) at a reduced rate based on her standard rate PRSI contributions excluding self-employment contributions, and has been advised in writing of this entitlement on 12th January 2010. This pension is payable at 50% of the maximum rate and is based on her yearly average of 11 contributions. A yearly average of 48 or more is required to qualify for a full-rate State Pension (Contributory).

Section 110 (1)(a) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005, has been on the statute books for over fifteen years and there has not been a change in policy in relation to the requirement to have paid at least one year's self employment contributions prior to reaching age 66, in order to qualify for a State Pension (Contributory).

An overpayment will be determined in the above case and the person concerned will be notified and requested to repay the amount involved. However a Recovery Officer may reduce or cancel an overpayment based on the circumstances of an individual case, in line with the governing legislation.

It should be noted that while the publication of the leaflet 'Working with your spouse: how it affects your social welfare contributions and entitlements' clarified existing procedures in relation to the recognition of commercial partnerships between husbands and wives for social insurance purposes, including retrospective payment of social insurance, it did not involve a change in existing policy or administration. In particular, the clarification of the position did not alter people's potential entitlements and all applicants for the state pension (contributory) must continue to satisfy the eligibility conditions as contained in legislation, and outlined above.

The Department understands and apologises for the upset and distress caused to this person, and regrets the administrative error involved.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 437: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the PRSI classes in operation; the criteria that apply to each class; the number of persons within each class; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3229/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The table below provides data on the total number of contributors to the Social Insurance Fund together with a breakdown of this figure by PRSI Class type. The figures for 2007 represent the most recent end-of-year returns received from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners for both employees and self-employed contributors.

A breakdown of the 2008 figures will be published in the "Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services 2009" later this year.

In general, PRSI contribution classes are decided by the nature of a person's employment and the amount of the employee's gross reckonable earnings in any week. The following sets out the PRSI classes in operation and the criteria that apply in each class. PRSI Class A People in industrial, commercial and service-type employment who are employed under a contract of service with gross earnings of €38 or more per week from all employments; Civil and Public Servants recruited from 6 April, 1995 and Community Employment participants from 6 April, 1996. PRSI Class J People in industrial, commercial and service-type employment who are employed under a contract of service and whose gross earnings are less than €38 per week from all employments; People insured for Occupational Injuries Benefits only, e.g. employees aged 66 years or over; People participating in certain FÁS training schemes who are insurable for Occupational Injuries Benefits only, and People whose employment is of a subsidiary nature or of inconsiderable extent, e.g. people insurable at Class B, C, D or H in their main employment and who have a second job; attendants at Department of Education Examinations; Presiding Officers and Poll Clerks at Elections, and R.D.F. members on annual training. PRSI Class B Permanent and pensionable Civil Servants, Registered Doctors and Dentists employed in the Civil Service and Gardaí, recruited prior to 6 April, 1995. PRSI Class C Commissioned Army Officers and members of the Army Nursing Service, recruited prior to 6 April, 1995. PRSI Class D Permanent and pensionable employees in the public service other than those mentioned in Classes B and C, recruited prior to 6 April, 1995. PRSI Class H NCOs and enlisted personnel of the Defence Forces. PRSI Class E Ministers of Religion employed by the Church of Ireland Representative Body. PRSI Class S Self-employed people such as farmers, certain company directors, people in business on their own account and people with income from investments, rents and maintenance. PRSI Class P (optional) Self-employed people whose principal means of livelihood comes from share fishing. PRSI Class K People receiving income which is not subject to social insurance contributions but which is liable for the Health Contribution, such as occupational pensions, income deriving from positions of certain Office Holders (e.g. Judiciary and State Solicitors) and income of people aged 66 to 70 years who were previously liable for Class S. PRSI Class M The M Class should be used for people with NIL contribution liability, e.g. employees under age 16 years, people within Class K with a NIL liability (medical card holders, widows/widowers, people aged 70 years or over), etc. Check this table!