Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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876. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration will be given to reviewing the rules around maternity benefit in order that persons that have been on jobseeker’s benefit payment since before the beginning of the Covid-19 emergency period can have the same rules applied to them as applies to recipients of Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment and the Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme, in that time spent on PUP and TWSS is treated as if such recipients are continuing to make insurance contributions at their normal social insurance class; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32835/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Maternity benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions while on maternity leave from employment.

To qualify for maternity benefit, a person must generally be in employment immediately before the first day of her maternity leave. The last day of insurable employment must be within 16 weeks of the end of the week in which her baby is due. If a woman satisfies these conditions and ceases employment within this 16 week timeframe, payment of maternity benefit can commence from the following day.

Where an individual is not in employment within the 16 week timeframe or has insufficient social insurance contributions to qualify for maternity benefit, they may be eligible for another social welfare payment, such as a jobseeker payment, provided they meet the relevant conditions.

A special arrangement has been made for those who have lost their employment as a direct consequence of the Pandemic. Recipients of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) or a jobseekers claim where a person had a underlying entitlement to PUP, shall be deemed to have made an employment contribution for the period for which they are receiving these payments.

There are no plans to extend this arrangement to jobseekers outside this particular category.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.