Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Independent)
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382. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the Irish state has a bilateral agreement with Jersey and the other Channel Islands regarding social security entitlements and the payments that are subject to this agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40658/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The current bilateral Social Security Agreement between Ireland and the United Kingdom is in force since 1 October 2007. In practice, the agreement applies to relations with the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man as these are not covered by the EU Regulations coordinating social security systems. The main purpose of the bilateral agreement is to protect the social welfare rights of people who have worked and paid full rate and/or modified social security contributions in Ireland and in the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The agreement allows people to combine the period of contributions in each place, if necessary, to qualify for a social security payment under either Irish law or laws applying in the other areas covered.

The agreement also deals with the social security status of workers who are sent to work temporarily from Ireland to the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands and vice versa. The Irish social welfare payments covered by the Agreement are: State pension (contributory), state pension (transition), widow's, widower's or surviving civil partners (contributory) pension, guardian's payment (contributory), bereavement grant, invalidity pension, illness benefit, maternity benefit, jobseeker's benefit, and occupational injuries benefit.