Written answers
Tuesday, 22 May 2018
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Social Welfare Schemes
John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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553. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the social welfare payments and supports which can be accessed by the self-employed; the criteria for each; and the year each payment was made available to the self-employed in tabular form. [22023/18]
Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Self-employed persons have access to the range of social assistance payments and supports subject to meeting the conditionality and means-testing criteria of the relevant scheme.
In addition, the following social insurance payments are available to the self-employed, subject to meeting the conditionality and contribution criteria:
- Adoptive Benefit
- Guardian’s Payment (Contributory)
- Invalidity Pension
- Maternity Benefit
- Paternity Benefit
- State Pension (Contributory)
- Treatment Benefit
- Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory)
The criteria for access to the relevant social insurance schemes and the year they were made available to the self-employed are presented as follows:
| Scheme | Criteria for Access | Year Made Available |
|---|---|---|
| Guardian’s Payment (contributory) | If either parent or step-parent had worked at any time and paid PRSI, including Class S, for 26 weeks, the orphan is entitled to the Guardian's Payment (Contributory). This may be paid for an orphan living in the State or abroad and is not means tested. Payment is made to the orphan's guardian up to the child's 18th birthday or 22nd birthday if they are in full-time education. | 1988 |
| Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension | To qualify for a Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension, either the claimant or their late spouse or civil partner must have a certain number of PRSI contributions. All the PRSI requirements must be met on one person's record. All must have been made before the death of the spouse or civil partner. | 1988 |
| State Pension (Contributory) | Persons who started paying class S PRSI on 6 April 1988 (the date of introduction of PRSI for the self-employed) will, if it is more advantageous, have entitlement to State Pension (Contributory) based on their PRSI record from that date (even if they had previous social insurance contributions) provided that they satisfy date of entry prior to age 56 on that date. Persons liable for class S PRSI contributions (who have satisfied the other conditions) must have at least one year's class S PRSI contributions paid before reaching pension age and have any outstanding class S PRSI contribution liability paid. | 1988 |
| Adoptive Benefit | The claimant must have 52 PRSI contributions paid at Class S in the relevant tax year, 52 PRSI contributions paid at Class S in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year, or 52 qualifying PRSI contributions paid at Class S in the tax year immediately following the relevant tax year. | 1998 |
| Maternity Benefit | The claimant must have 52 weeks of PRSI contributions paid at Class S in the relevant tax year, 52 weeks of PRSI contributions paid at Class S in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year, or 52 weeks of PRSI contributions paid at Class S in the tax year immediately following the relevant tax year.If a claimant is now self-employed but was in insurable employment before she became self-employed, her PRSI contributions (Class A, E and H) in that employment may help her qualify for Maternity Benefit if she does not satisfy the self-employment conditions as stated above. | 1998 |
| Paternity Benefit | Same as maternity benefit. | 2016 |
| Invalidity Pension | The claimant must have at least 260 (5 years) paid PRSI contributions since entering social insurance and 48 contributions paid or credited in the last or second-last complete tax year before the date of their claim. PRSI paid at class S is only reckonable for claims received on or after 1st December 2017. | 2017 |
| Treatment Benefit | The claimant must have paid Class A, E, P, H or S social insurance contributions. The amount of social insurance needed depends on the age of the claimant, and there are no special conditions for the self-employed. | 2017 |
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