Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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176. To ask the Minister for Social Protection his plans to extend entitlement to jobseeker's benefit to persons who have paid S-class contributions in the relevant year for assessment of entitlement; when these changes will be in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5119/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Core to the Programme for Government is improving the position of the self-employed generally, including the commitment to introduce an enhanced PRSI scheme for the self-employed.

Making progress on this commitment has been one of my key priorities since becoming Minister in this Department. On Budget Day, I was pleased to announce a number of important measures which will benefit the self-employed.

From March 2017, the self-employed will have access to the treatment benefit scheme which includes free eye and dental exams, and contributions towards the cost of hearings aids. Treatment benefit entitlements will also be extended from October 2017 so as to provide further dental and optical benefits (these improvements will benefit both the self-employed and employees).

More significantly, self-employed contributors will be eligible for the Invalidity Pension from December 2017. For the first time, this will give the self-employed access to the safety net of State income supports if they become permanently incapable of work as a result of an illness or disability without having to go through a means test. This is a real advance in the level of cover available to the self-employed.

The self-employed will also benefit in 2017 from the further increase in Earned Income Tax Credit announced by my colleague, the Minister for Finance, as well as the extension of entrepreneurship supports. These measures are all part of the Government’s policy of making work pay and encouraging self-employment and entrepreneurship I plan to continue extending cover for the self-employed to other benefits on a phased basis in future Budgets.

In 2017, my Department will examine the extension of social insurance to cover new risks and contingencies, including developing proposals on a form of jobseeker’s benefit where a person's business fails or they can no longer continue working in their profession or trade. I look forward to introducing further improvements for the self-employed in future Budgets.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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177. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if a person making a claim for jobseekers benefit in 2017 who is currently paying a class-A contribution, but who has 52 paid class-S contributions only in 2015, the relevant year for assessment, has an entitlement to jobseeker's benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5120/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The jobseeker's benefit scheme provides income support for people who lose work and who have the required number of qualifying social insurance contributions. The 2017 Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure on jobseeker’s benefit of €343 million.

The PRSI contribution classes that count towards qualifying for jobseekers benefit are PRSI Class A, H and P. Individuals who are self-employed cannot typically access jobseeker’s benefit as PRSI Class S contributions do not qualify a person for jobseeker’s benefit. To qualify for jobseeker's benefit a person must satisfy the conditionality for the scheme including the contribution condition. They must have at least 104 weeks qualifying PRSI contributions paid since they first started work and 39 weeks qualifying PRSI contributions paid or credited in the relevant tax year or, 26 weeks qualifying PRSI paid in the relevant tax year and 26 weeks qualifying PRSI paid in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year. The relevant tax year is the second last complete tax year before the year in which your claim is made. So, for claims made in 2017, the relevant tax year is 2015.

However, a self-employed person who has sufficient social insurance contributions as an employee could qualify for jobseeker’s benefit provided they either give up their self-employment or if their self-employment is considered to be subsidiary employment.

To be considered as subsidiary employment the relevant employment should be in addition to the jobseeker’s usual employment. Also, either the amount of earnings or profit from the occupation cannot exceed €12.70 per day, or the jobseeker must have a minimum of 117 PRSI contributions, paid immediately preceding the date of the claim or in respect of the last 3 complete contribution years. However, the individual must satisfy all conditions of the jobseeker’s benefit scheme, including being available for and genuinely seeking full-time employment. If the jobseeker does not have the relevant number of qualifying contributions they may be eligible for jobseeker’s allowance or if engaged in farming they may qualify for farm assist.

Any decision to change the qualifying PRSI classes for jobseeker's benefit would be a matter for Government to consider in a budgetary context.