Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

169. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a person (details supplied) in County Kerry is entitled to credit contributions for the period that they were in receipt of disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62494/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Disability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions

The person concerned was in receipt of DA from 04 July 2007 to 1 November 2022.

On 09 December 2022, officials in the DA Section, sent a request to the Department’s Records Section in Buncrana to examine entitlements to PRSI Credits for the period the person concerned was in receipt of DA.

Records Section has confirmed that the person concerned is not entitled to Credits. In order to receive credits, a person must have paid or credited contributions in either of the last two complete income tax years.

There is a gap of more than two complete tax years in the social insurance record of the person concerned. Their last contribution was in 1999 before DA was awarded on 04 July 2007 and these contributions are S class contributions, which are not eligible for Social Welfare Credits to be awarded.

In order for the person concerned to be considered for reckonable credits in the future, they will need to work and pay PRSI contributions for a further 26 weeks before eligibility for credits is restored.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.