Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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611. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of self-employed persons on class S PRSI contributions that will be eligible for social welfare benefits (details supplied) in 2019. [47881/18]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Self-employed workers, 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, paternity benefit and treatment benefit (from March 2017).  Entitlement to invalidity pension was extended to the self-employed from December 2017.  In Budget 2019 I was pleased to announce that jobseeker’s benefit will be extended to the self-employed towards the end of2019. All these improvements to entitlements were introduced without an increase in the PRSI charge for the self-employed.

Statistics for the latest year available, 2016, show that approximately 340,000 self-employed contributors will have entitlement to dental and optical benefits, invalidity pension and jobseeker’s benefit, subject to the normal qualifying conditions.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.