Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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242. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the rationale as to why a woman with three children and who is a widow, cannot receive illness benefit when she is entitled to it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42289/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Illness benefit is the primary short term income support provided by my Department to those who are unable to work due to illness of any type and who are covered by social insurance. Eligibility for illness benefit depends on the person’s PRSI record and class. People must have made the required number of contributions under PRSI classes A, E, H or P to qualify.

Widow’s/widower’s/surviving civil partner’s pension (contributory) is a weekly social insurance payment to those who have lost their spouse or civil partner and are covered by social insurance.

There is a general principle of one person, one payment, which applies across the social welfare system. Given the contingency-based nature of this system, it can happen that a person may experience more than one contingency at the same time but, generally, they can receive only one payment. This principle is common to social security systems across the world. Illness benefit and the widow’s/widower’s/surviving civil partner’s pension (contributory) are, generally, not payable concurrently.

However, if a customer is getting a reduced rate of widow’s/widower’s/surviving civil partner’s pension (contributory), they may also get a reduced rate of illness benefit, so that the combined amount of both payments is not greater than the maximum rate of illness benefit to which they would otherwise be entitled. Further exceptions to the one person, one payment rule and more information on the operations of the schemes are available at gov.ie.

With regard to additional supports, my Department also provides an additional needs payment under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to help meet essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. This includes certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from a person’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary.

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, and in the context of social insurance contribution rates and the overall sustainability of the Social Insurance Fund.

I trust that clarifies the matter for the Deputy.