Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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276. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the purpose of reckonable credits if they are not taken into account when calculating eligibility for various social welfare payments. [6671/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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PRSI 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 by covering gaps in insurance during periods when they may not be in a position to pay contributions.

Credits do not, on their own, give an individual entitlement to social insurance benefits. They may, however, assist insured workers to qualify for various benefits. While the contribution conditions applying to the various social insurance schemes can vary, a claimant must, in general have:

(a) paid a minimum number of weekly contributions, and

(b) a certain number of contributions or credits over a specified period. For short term benefits, the number of contributions or credits relates to the relevant tax year. 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 the requirements relating to the minimum number of paid contributions. Credits are, however, of value to a person who has already satisfied the “paid contribution” test, by contributing to access for short-term schemes where the credits are awarded in the relevant tax year, or by increasing the yearly average number of contributions for long-term schemes.