Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 97: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the support mechanisms available for persons whose employment is seasonal or sporadic; her plans to look at the circumstances of persons working in the arts whose income is intermittent but who have child care, education, mortgage and other daily commitments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16862/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There are no specific schemes in the Department that are targeted at those in the Arts nor are there any plans to introduce such a scheme. However there are a number of measures that are applicable, on a non-sectoral specific basis, to a range of unemployed, or underemployed workers, along with those who pursue self-employment but receive low income from same.

Unemployed persons may qualify for jobseeker's benefit or jobseeker's allowance. Jobseeker's benefit is based on a person's social insurance record and jobseeker's allowance is based on weekly means. A fundamental qualifying condition for the benefit is that a person must be available and looking for full-time work but payment can be made to those in part-time, casual or seasonal work having regard to these conditions.

Artists are generally adjudged to be self-employed workers, liable for PRSI at the Class S rate of 4%. They are consequently eligible for a narrower range of benefits than general employees who, together with their employers, pay a total social insurance contribution of 14.75%, excluding levies, under the full-rate PRSI Class A.

Self-employed workers are not insured against short-term benefits such as illness and jobseeker's payments – these are only available to persons covered by PRSI Classes A, E, H and P. This reflects the need for coverage for various contingencies, the rate of contributions that self-employed persons pay, the practicalities of administering and controlling access to short-term payments and the annualised system of contributions that these people enjoy. A system of separate arrangements for employed and self-employed workers within a social insurance context is common in other European social protection systems.

There are no plans at present to extend cover for short-term benefits to this group of insured workers. Any such measure would have significant financial implications and would have to be considered within a budgetary context. Consideration would also have to be given to an appropriate increase in the rate of the PRSI Class S contribution.

Self-employed workers who do not qualify for an insurance-based benefit may establish entitlement to assistance-based payments such as jobseeker's allowance. They can apply for the means-tested jobseekers allowance if their business ceases or if they are on low income as a result of a downturn in demand for their services. In general their means will take account of the level of earnings in the last twelve months in determining their expected income for the following year. If the means test is satisfied they can receive a payment and continue to pursue their self-employed activities. In the current climate account is taken of the downward trend in the economy. It is accepted that future earnings may be lower than those of previous years and this is factored in projecting future earnings, with account being taken of the potential for significant upward or downward variations in income from one year to the next.

In common with those from other sectors, people in receipt of jobseekers payments may be entitled to access back-to-work enterprise allowance. This is a scheme which facilitates those who wish to either, become self-employed, or increase the level of their self-employment. Under the scheme a self-employed person retains 100% of social welfare payment for the first year and 75% for the second year and secondary benefits received are retained as appropriate. There are also small grants potentially available to support the establishment of the enterprise. Further, individually-specific, information is available from the network of Facilitators that are based in the Department's Local Offices.