Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1250. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of hours per week an employee works in order to receive a full class A stamp; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13019/19]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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.

Employees earning €38 or over per week do not pay the employee portion of the PRSI contribution until their weekly earnings exceed €352.  They then pay the employee PRSI rate of 4% on all earnings, with a PRSI credit to reduce the "step effect".  Employers pay a PRSI contribution of 8.7% (inclusive of the National Training Fund (NTF) levy of 0.9%) on all earnings once weekly earnings equal or exceed €38 while they pay a higher rate of 10.95% (inclusive of the NTF Levy of 0.9%) once earnings exceed €386 per week.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.