Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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210. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if Ireland has a social security agreement in place with Serbia; should one be in place, if an Irish citizen in receipt of disability allowance here would be able to receive a similar assistance payment in Serbia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28746/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Ireland does not have a bilateral agreement with Serbia and none is planned. There is an EU Stabilisation and Association agreement with Serbia in place which covers, amongst other things, cooperation in matters of social security. However, the social security provisions are not yet in force and a decision of the EU Stabilisation and Association Council would be needed to put this aspect of the agreement into operation. International agreements on social security, including the agreement mentioned above, generally deal with issues relating to long-term contributory payments such as invalidity and old age pensions. Non-contributory payments are not usually dealt with in such agreements and are provided in accordance with domestic legislation only and are not exportable. Accordingly, an Irish citizen living in Serbia would need to satisfy the legislation of that country in order to receive any payment similar to disability allowance there.