Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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137. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been made on the request for a disability allowance rate review by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35040/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Notification of a change in their circumstances was received from the person concerned on 7 May 2021 and a review was opened on their disability allowance (DA).

The file has been referred to a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) for a report on the person’s means and circumstances. Once the SWI has submitted his/her report to DA section, a decision will be made on the application and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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138. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration has been given to adjusting the term of short-term working support to ensure that workers in sectors which continue to be seriously reduced in activity due to continuing Covid-19 restrictions will be able to continue to receive this important supplement to their income which would otherwise expire due to limits on the duration of claims. [35053/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Jobseekers Benefit and Jobseekers Allowance schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and who are unable to find full-time employment. These statutory schemes allow individuals to work up to 3 days a week and retain access to a reduced jobseekers payment.

Jobseekers Benefit is paid for up to 9 months (or 234 days) for people with 260 or more PRSI contributions paid. It is paid for up to 6 months (or 156 days) for people with fewer than 260 PRSI contributions paid.

It is a fundamental feature of a range of the Department's benefit payments, including Jobseeker's Benefit, that the payment is time-limited. Time limits apply across a range of PRSI related schemes such as maternity benefit and illness benefit.

Where a person exhausts their entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit, they may be eligible for support under the means-tested Jobseeker's Allowance scheme. The Department contacts the Jobseeker's Benefit recipient in advance of the expiry date of their claim to advise them that their entitlement is due to expire and that they should make an application for Jobseekers Allowance on the attached application form.

Jobseeker's Allowance has unlimited duration as long as a person meets the qualifying scheme conditions including the means test.

The wide ranging nature of the assistance available to those impacted by Covid -19, including the availability of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme for employers, constitutes a comprehensive suite of supports. On that basis I do not intend to amend the duration of Jobseeker's Benefit at this time.

I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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139. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will intervene in the case of a person (details supplied) involving an application for the over 65s benefit payment. [35082/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds, provided for under the Jobseekers Benefit scheme, has been introduced in line with the Programme for Government commitment, to address the position of people who are required to or choose to retire at age 65 before the pension age of 66.

This new benefit payment is designed to bridge the gap for people who retire from employment or self-employment at 65 years of age until they qualify for the State Pension at age 66 years. Recipients of the payment are not required to sign on, engage in activation measures or be available for and genuinely seeking work which is normally the case for recipients of a Jobseeker’s payment.

To be eligible for the payment a person must satisfy the qualifying conditions of the scheme including the PRSI social insurance contribution requirement.

A person must have paid 104 PRSI insurable employment contributions at class A, H or P or paid 156 class S contributions if they are self-employed. The second contribution condition requires that a person must also have 39 reckonable contributions paid or credited in the Governing Contribution Year (GCY). The GCY for 2021 is 2019. At least 13 of these contributions must be paid. Where a person does not have 13 paid contributions in the GCY they can be from 2 years before the GCY, the last complete tax year or the current tax year. Alternatively, a person could qualify if they have at least 26 reckonable contributions paid in both the GCY and the year immediately preceding the GCY.

Self-employed contributors pay PRSI on a wide variety of self-employment income. These contributions help to ensure that individuals qualify for valuable social welfare benefits, including pensions. The qualifying conditions for Jobseekers Benefit (Self-Employed) include the requirement that a person has completely ceased self-employment. For that reason, individuals who continue to pay Class S PRSI on a variety of income sources are not regarded as having ceased self-employment; they continue to pay Class S PRSI and are to be regarded as being in insurable self-employment.

The issue raised by the Deputy regarding Class S PRSI contributions arising solely from personal pensions has been raised with my Department and the matter is under consideration.

I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.