Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 93: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if Ireland has any agreement with Belgium in regard to social allowance payments; if a Belgian citizen is resident in Ireland and has paid contributions in Belgium, could those contributions be taken into account in regard to an application in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8951/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Ireland and Belgium are both members of the European Union (EU). The social security rights of people living and working in the EU are governed by EU Regulations 883/04 and 987/09. The Regulations co-ordinate social security systems and are designed to ensure that people are not disadvantaged by moving within the EU to take up work.

The Regulations set out the rules as to which State's social security system a person will pay contributions to when they move from one Member State to another to take up work, or where they live in one State and work in another. In addition, the legislation also sets out the rules as to which State will pay benefit in the event of the usual contingencies arising, e.g. unemployment, sickness, old-age etc.

The general rule is that a person is insured in the State in which he/she is employed. With few exceptions, the State of last employment is responsible for paying benefits when, for example, a person becomes unemployed. The Regulations also provide that when entitlement to benefit is being examined insurance contributions made in any other Member State must, if necessary, be aggregated with contributions made in Ireland.

In general, a Belgian national who has worked in Belgium and meets the qualifying conditions for unemployment benefit there, who then wishes to move to Ireland to seek work, may export and continue to receive that benefit from Belgium for up to six months in accordance with EU legislation. In order to qualify under these provisions the person must be signing-on in his/her home State for up to 4 weeks and make application for an export of benefit in advance of any move to another country. It is understood that the person in question has already moved to Ireland so this option may not be available to them. A decision in that regard would be a matter for the Belgian social security services.

A person would not be entitled to Irish social security benefits, such as Jobseeker's Benefit, until they become subject to the Irish social security system by entering insurable employment here and paying PRSI contributions. In the event of any subsequent period of unemployment they may become entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit on the basis of their Irish contributions, and any reckonable contributions made under the social insurance system of any other EU Member State.

Those who do not qualify for social insurance payments here can apply to have their eligibility for Jobseeker's Allowance assessed. In order to qualify a person must satisfy a means-test and be considered to be habitually resident here.