Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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235. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if allowances will be made for self-employed preschool teachers to be eligible for jobseeker’s benefit or allowance during non-term time in recognition of the provision made for other school staff who are not employed by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38349/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Jobseeker's Benefit Self Employed scheme, introduced in November 2019 under the Social Welfare Act 2019, is a social insurance contribution based income support payment for qualifying self-employed people. The provision provides a supportive environment for entrepreneurship, including an income safety net to both employees and self-employed people.

Many of the features of this benefit scheme for the self-employed are similar to the existing Jobseeker's benefit scheme for employees. These include the duration and the rates of payment, including increases for adult and child dependents. Other fundamental conditions that apply to both schemes are that the person must be available for and genuinely seeking full-time work.

Not all features of both schemes are the same which reflects the differences that exist between the nature of self-employment and working as an employee. To qualify for payment for a self-employed person, a claimant must meet the conditions for the new scheme including the condition of “not being engaged in self-employment.” A self-employed person who in the ordinary course of their business closes their business on a planned, temporary or seasonal basis does not satisfy this condition.

Where a self- employed person does not meet the conditionality for Jobseeker's Benefit Self Employed they may apply for support under the means tested Jobseeker's Allowance scheme, subject to satisfying the conditions of that scheme. The maximum weekly personal rate for the Jobseekers schemes is €203 and increases are paid for qualifying adults and child dependants.

I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.