Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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379. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the introduction of illness benefit for self-employed persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44643/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Illness Benefit is the primary income support payment for people who are covered by social insurance and who are unable to attend work due to illness of any type.

Eligibility for Illness Benefit depends on the person’s PRSI contributions. People must have made the required number of PRSI contributions in Class A, E, H or P in order to be eligible for Illness Benefit. In general, self-employed people make PRSI contributions at Class S which is not counted towards eligibility for Illness Benefit.

Illness Benefit is funded by the Social Insurance Fund through the payment of Pay Related Social Insurance (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.

Self-employed people pay contributions to the Social Insurance Fund at a lower rate of 4%. People with Class S contributions, however, qualify for the following payments where all qualification criteria for the particular scheme are satisfied:

- 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.

Although self-employed people are not usually eligible for Illness Benefit, an exception was made in relation to Covid-19, primarily as a public health measure. The purpose of this enhanced Illness Benefit payment is 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. 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.

My Department keeps 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.