Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps taken to ensure that there is a social welfare net available for self-employed people who suffer a loss of their business. [35957/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Self-employed workers are liable for PRSI at the Class S rate of 4% which entitles them to access long-term benefits such as State pension (contributory) and widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension (contributory). Any proposal to extend short term benefits such as jobseeker's benefit to the self-employed would have significant financial implications and would have to be considered in the context of a much more significant rise in the rate of contribution payable.

Ordinary employees who have access to the full range of social welfare benefits, including jobseeker's benefit, pay Class A PRSI at the rate of 4%. In addition their employers also make a PRSI contribution of 10.75% in respect of their employees, resulting in the payment of a combined 14.75% rate per employee under full-rate PRSI Class A. (For employees earning less than €356, the rate of employers PRSI is 4.25%).

In this context it may be noted that self-employed workers generally achieve better value for money by paying social insurance compared to employees. In terms of benefits the 2005 Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund found that the self-employed contributor can expect to receive over 10 times what he contributes to the social insurance fund compared to the employee who only gets 3 times what he and his employer contribute – despite the fact that the range of benefits available to employees is greater. PRSI coverage is related to the risks associated with employment or self-employment, the annualised system of contributions for self-employed people and the practicalities of administering and controlling access to short-term payment for self-employed people. A system of separate arrangements for employed and self-employed workers within a social insurance context is common in other European social protection systems.

Self-employed workers may establish eligibility to assistance-based payments such as jobseeker's allowance. They can apply for the means-tested jobseeker's 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. In the current climate account is taken of the downward trend in the economy.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Question 46: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she has prepared an impact analysis of the effect on jobs if businesses are forced to pay in full for sick leave for employees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36049/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The question of introducing a scheme of statutory sick pay is one of a range of options being examined with a view to reforming the social welfare system to bring it into line with practices in other countries, addressing the deficit in the social insurance fund and meeting the commitments which this country has entered into with the EU/IMF/ECB to achieve substantial reductions in current spending. A preliminary analysis based on estimates of absenteeism indicates that if a sick pay scheme with a duration of four weeks were to be introduced, it would add between €1 and €2 per employee per week to the costs of employment.