Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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622. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of hours per week a PAYE employee must work in order to receive a full class A PRSI stamp; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5423/19]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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People within PRSI Class A are those in industrial, commercial and service-type employment who are employed under a contract of service with reckonable pay of €38 or more per week from all employments, and Civil and Public Servants recruited from 6 April 1995.

Currently, there is no set number of hours per week that must be worked.

Until 1991 the threshold for access to social insurance was based on hours worked – 18 hours.

From April 1991 onwards, the person was insurable at the Class A rate of PRSI if their income equalled or exceeded £25 per week. This threshold was increased to £30 per week from April 1994 and upon conversion to Euro the £30 threshold became €38.

Therefore, based on the current minimum hourly rate of €9.80, an employee working under 4 hours per week gains access to the full range of social insurance benefits.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.