Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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484. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if guardianship supports will be paid to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24164/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The person concerned was awarded a guardians payment (contributory) at the weekly rate of €382.00 with effect from the 11th March 2022. Payment will commence at her nominated bank account from the 20th May 2022 . Any arrears due will also be paid into her nominated bank account on the same date.

The person concerned has been notified accordingly.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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485. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been made on an invalidity pension application by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24212/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The person referred to has been awarded invalidity pension with effect from 10 March 2022 and will receive her first payment to her nominated post office on 26 May 2022. Any arrears due from 10 March 2022 to 25 May 2022 will issue in due course. The person in question was notified of this decision on 12 May 2022.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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486. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason that self-employed persons are not entitled to claim illness benefit if they are unable to work due to illness; the measures that are being taken to bring about changes to same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24217/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Illness Benefit is the primary income support provided by my department to those who cannot work due to illness of any kind. Illness Benefit is a social insurance payment and eligibility depends on the person’s Pay Relayed Social Insurance (PRSI) record and class. Only contributions made in Class A, E, H or P count toward this payment.

Self-employed people who make PRSI contributions at Class S cannot claim Illness Benefit. This is due to the fact that people in Class S pay contributions to the Social Insurance Fund at a lower rate of 4%.

Although self-employed people are not usually eligible for Illness Benefit, an exception was made in relation to Covid-19 enhanced Illness Benefit, primarily as a public health measure, to encourage people to not go to work due to financial constraint when they should be in isolation.

There has been an extensive expansion of access to the range of social insurance benefits for self-employed contributors in recent years without any increase in the 4% rate of contribution made by them. Where all qualification criteria for the particular scheme are satisfied, PRSI contributions in Class S give access to:

- Adoptive Benefit;

- Guardian's Payment (Contributory);

- Invalidity Pension;

- Jobseeker's Benefit (Self-Employed);

- Maternity Benefit;

- Parent's Benefit;

- Partial Capacity Benefit (where in receipt of Invalidity Pension);

- Paternity Benefit;

- State Pension (Contributory);

- Treatment Benefit; and

- Widows, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension.

The benefits to which Class S PRSI does not provide access are Carer's Benefit, Health and Safety Benefit, Illness Benefit, and Occupational Injuries Benefits.

In effect, self-employed contributors, in return for a contribution of 11 percentage points lower than the combined employer and employee contribution of 15.05% made in respect of employed contributors, have access to benefits which comprise over 90% of the value of all benefits available to employed contributors.

Illness Benefit is funded by the Social Insurance Fund through the payment of PRSI contributions. The Fund is central to Ireland’s system of social protection and the Government needs to ensure that it can provide adequate and sustainable social insurance pensions and benefits for a growing and ageing population.

The Programme for Government commits to giving consideration to increasing all classes of PRSI over time to replenish the Social Insurance Fund to help pay for measures and changes to be agreed including to the State pension system, improvements in short-term sick pay benefits, parental leave benefits, pay-related jobseeker's benefit and treatment benefits.

I do not intend to extend illness benefit to persons that are self-employed at this time. My Department will continue to keep its range of supports under review to ensure that they meet their overall objectives. Any changes to the current system would need to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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487. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if self-employed persons are entitled to apply for the jobseeker's benefit in cases in which their company goes out of business and they are looking for a job; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24230/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Jobseeker's Benefit Self Employed scheme, introduced in November 2019, is a social insurance contribution based income support payment for qualifying self-employed people.

To be eligible for the payment a self -employed person must satisfy all of the statutory conditions including the contribution condition. This requires that they must have at least 156 weeks of Class S contributions or at least 104 weeks of paid Class A or H PRSI since first starting work. In addition, they must also have 52 weeks of Class S contributions paid in the Governing Contribution Year (GCY). The GCY is the second last complete tax year before the year in which the claim is made. The GCY for current year claims is 2020.

Where a person’s company goes out of business and they are available for and genuinely seeking employment they may be eligible for the payment subject to satisfying the scheme conditions. However, a person shall be disqualified for receiving the benefit for a period of up to nine weeks where they have received or are entitled to receive any moneys, in excess of €50,000, in respect of the sale or disposal of their self-employment business. This figure is calculated as the net cash value received by the person from the sale of the business after all expenses and debts associated with the business have been paid.

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.

I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.