Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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253. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the cost of extending social protection supports to the self-employed and permitting such persons to opt into the existing class A structure, paying the rate corresponding to their income level based on the last published actuarial review of the Social Insurance Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9437/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The last Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund, which referred to 31 December 2010, did not provide a cost for permitting self-employed workers to opt to into class A structure paying equivalent rates of contributions. It did provide a costing of extending two benefits – jobseeker’s benefit and invalidity pension – to self-employed workers. The full year incremental costs of extending Jobseeker’s Benefit and Invalidity Pension to the self-employed, stated in 2012 terms, was estimated to be €87m and €78m in a full year, respectively. This costing is based on the extension of these benefits to all self-employed workers on a compulsory basis.