Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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51. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if long-term carers will be given future contributory pension entitlements in view of the huge savings to the State due to the work of these individuals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35034/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Credited contributions (credits) are social insurance contributions designed to protect the social insurance entitlement record of insured workers who are not in a position to make PRSI contributions.

Credits are awarded in circumstances such as unemployment or illness, and their purpose is to help protect the social insurance entitlements of insured persons during periods when they may not be in a position to pay contributions.

In order to qualify for credits, a person must first have entered insurable employment - he or she must have paid at least one PRSI at Class A, B, C, D, E, H or P.

Credits may enable insured workers to qualify for various social insurance benefits. While the contribution conditions applying to the various insurance benefit schemes can vary, a claimant must, in general, have

a. Paid a minimum number of weekly contributions and

b. Have a certain number of contributions or credits over a specified period; in the case of short-term benefits this is the relevant tax year, while in the case of long-term benefits (e.g. pensions) this is on the basis of the yearly average number of contributions and/or credits over the person's working life.

Credits cannot be used to satisfy condition (a). Thus, credits are only of value to a person who satisfies this "paid contribution" test.

Credits are awarded to recipients of Carer's Allowance in the following circumstances:

- if the claimant was employed and paid PRSI contributions prior to receiving Carer's Allowance s/he may be entitled to credits. If, however, there is a gap of two years in the claimant's insurance record, credits are not valid until at least 26 PRSI contributions have been paid.

- if the claimant was in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance (provided s/he has at least one paid Class A PRSI contribution) Jobseeker's Benefit or Illness Benefit immediately prior to claiming Carer's Allowance.

In addition under the Homemakers Scheme, which was introduced in 1994, a person who gives up work to take care of a child under age 12 or an incapacitated person over age 12 can be classified as a homemaker. Complete years spent out of the workforce looking after a child or an incapacitated person, are disregarded when working out entitlement to a State Pension (Contributory).

This scheme was introduced to make qualification for State pension (contributory) easier for those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties - up to 20 years spent caring for children under 12 years of age and/or an incapacitated person can be disregarded.

However, it is important to note that the scheme will not, of itself, qualify a person for a pension. The standard qualifying conditions, which require a person to enter insurance ten years before pension age, pay a minimum of 520 contributions at the correct rate and achieve a yearly average of at least 10 contributions on their record from the time they enter insurance until they reach pension age, must also be satisfied.

For those who do not satisfy these conditions, and have an income need, a means-tested State pension may be available.

It is planned that a total contributions approach to pension qualification will replace the current average contributions test for State pension (contributory). The proposed date for the introduction of this change is 2020, but this may be subject to change.

The total contributions approach (whereby the pension payment will be based on the number of contributions paid and credited) will remove the current anomaly whereby people can achieve a higher average contribution rate, and thus a higher level of pension, even where they have a lower total number of contributions paid. This move will bring transparency and fairness to the eligibility for pension.