Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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188. To ask the Minister for Social Protection in relation to subsidiary employment and entitlement to jobseeker's benefit, if she is aware of the large number of persons whose claims for jobseeker's benefit are being refused on the grounds that they are seasonally employed in fishing and/or fish processing and/or are self-employed farmers, despite the fact that they had previously qualified for the benefit; her views on the hardship this matter is causing these persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26144/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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In order to qualify for jobseeker’s benefit a person must satisfy certain conditions. Where a person is involved in seasonal part-time employment fishing/fish processing and/or part-time farming, neither of these employments are considered to be subsidiary in nature. The governing legislation states that a day shall not be treated as a day of unemployment,it shall be treated as a day of employmentunless it is considered subsidiary employment.

To be considered subsidiary, the work being undertaken should be in addition to the usual full-time employment, and the remuneration received by the jobseeker must not exceed €12.70 a day, and the jobseeker must have a minimum of 117 PRSI contributions paid immediately preceding the date of the claim or in respect of the last three complete contribution years.

Where a person has been working in their usual employment and also working in a second employment, the second employment could only be considered subsidiary if the above conditions are satisfied.

If the Deputy would let me have the details of the particular cases, I will have my officials follow up on them accordingly.