Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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248. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her Department’s understanding of which social care benefits Irish citizens who move to Northern Ireland are entitled to under the Common Travel Area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36933/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Under the Common Travel Area (CTA), Irish citizens and British citizens in each other’s State have the right to access social security benefits on the same basis as citizens of that State. This includes reciprocal arrangements for Social Insurance schemes, Social Assistance schemes and Child Benefit. The Government is committed to ensuring that the reciprocity of social welfare rights and entitlements, which currently exist for Irish and British citizens within the Common Travel Area, are safeguarded and maintained.

As part of that commitment to the CTA, the Government entered into a Convention on Social Security with the Government of the United Kingdom, signed on the 1st February 2019. Under the terms of the agreement, Irish and British citizens living in either country will maintain the right to benefit from social insurance contributions made when working in either country and to access social insurance payments in either country just as before.

There are a variety of social security payments that come within the scope of this convention, including Carer’s Benefit and Domiciliary Care Allowance.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.