Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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691. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason self-employed persons who became disabled and as a result were unable to work in the past number of years are not entitled to invalidity pensions, even if they worked for many years prior to becoming disabled and for a few years were not in a position to make PRSI contributions, are now being penalised for this; her plans to amend the legislation to ensure that all self-employed persons who have become disabled will be entitled to an invalidity pension; if she will examine the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53538/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Self-employed people who earn €5,000 or more in a contribution year, are liable for PRSI at the class S rate of 4%, subject to a minimum annual payment of €500. This provides them with access to the following benefits: State pension (contributory), widow’s, widower’s or surviving civil partner’s pension (contributory), guardian’s payment (contributory), maternity benefit, adoptive benefit and paternity benefit.

Since March 2017, the self-employed have access to the treatment benefit scheme which includes free eye and dental examinations, and contributions towards the cost of hearing aids. Treatment benefit entitlements were also extended from October 2017 so as to provide further dental and optical benefits.

Even more significantly, self-employed contributors are now eligible for the invalidity pension from December 2017. For the first time, this gives 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.

Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the pay-related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.

The PRSI contribution conditions are that the person must have at least 260 (5 years) paid contributions since entering social insurance and 48 contributions paid or credited in the last 2 complete contribution years before the date of their claim. PRSI classes A, E H and, since December 2017, S contributions are reckonable for IP purposes.

To date there is no record of receipt of a claim for IP from the person in question. Entitlement to IP can only be definitively determined on receipt of a completed claim form.

Persons who have an insufficient employment/PRSI record to qualify for a social insurance benefit/pension may apply for the appropriate means-tested social assistance scheme. For example, persons between the ages of 16 and 66 who are suffering from an illness or disability may, subject to satisfying the qualifying conditions, qualify for disability allowance (DA).

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the deputy.