Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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198. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 75 of 16 July 2015, her plans to change the eligibility criteria for maternity benefit to include pay-related social insurance payments prior to one year before a woman takes maternity leave or provide maternity benefit without assessment of PRSI payment on the grounds of the benefit this would provide to new-born children. [31129/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Maternity benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed pregnant women who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions on their own insurance record, in order to obviate the need for them to work pre and post-delivery of their baby. This year it is estimated that there will be a weekly average of 24,000 recipients of maternity benefit at a cost of €254 million.

The fundamental qualification criterion for maternity benefit is that a woman must be in insurable employment or self-employment and is contingent on entitlement to statutory maternity leave.

PRSI contributions paid prior to one year before a woman takes maternity leave are taken into account when calculating entitlement to maternity benefit. The woman must also satisfy one of following PRSI contribution conditions:

i39 weeks PRSI paid in the 12 months before the first day of her maternity leave; or

ii have at least 39 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work and at least 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the Relevant Tax Year or in the year following the Relevant Tax Year; or

iii have at least 26 weeks PRSI paid in the Relevant Tax Year and at least 26 weeks PRSI paid in the Tax Year prior to the Relevant Tax Year.

The Relevant Tax Year is the second last complete income tax year before the year in which the maternity leave starts. For example, for claims that start in 2015, the relevant tax year is 2013.

For a person in self-employment, she must have sufficient earnings (€5,000 per annum) in the year of her confinement to be liable to pay income tax and PRSI. In addition to being in insurable self-employment the woman must also satisfy one of the following PRSI contribution conditions:

ihave 52 qualifying PRSI conditions paid in the relevant tax year; or

iihave 52 qualifying contributions paid in the tax year prior to the relevant tax year; or

iiihave 52 qualifying contributions paid in the tax year following the relevant tax year.

Self-employment contributions, Class S PRSI, are not awarded for any particular year until all liabilities for that year are paid. Where a woman has recently set up as a self-employed person or historically has earnings from self-employment below the €5,000 threshold, it may not be possible to qualify for her payment until such time as her reckonable income and Class S liability for the year in question can confirmed. In cases where the Department finds that a self-employed customer has a record of earnings in excess of €5,000 in previous years and has an expected due date early in the tax year (i.e. within the first 16 weeks), her earnings in the previous year, if greater than €5,000, can be used as confirmation of her insurable status.

All applications for maternity benefit from self-employed women are processed on a case by case basis and every effort is made to qualify the customer for payment where possible and in accordance with legislative provisions.

There are currently no plans to change the eligibility conditions for the maternity benefit.