Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the legislation in place for persons who pay contributions while in the workforce and are in receipt of a social welfare payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49415/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I understand that the Deputy’s question relates to the issue of the payment of concurrent social insurance benefits to a person who is in receipt of a widow/er’s contributory pension.

The social welfare system is designed to respond to a range of contingencies such as illness, unemployment, old age or widowhood. Within this wide-ranging system, a general principle is applied that only one social welfare benefit should be payable at any one time. This approach serves to maintain the equity of the social welfare system and, indeed, is common to social security systems across the world. It is against that background that the payment of half-rate illness benefit and half-rate jobseeker’s benefit in addition to a widow/er’s contributory pension was abolished for new applicants from the end of January 2012.