Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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121. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the cost of extending illness benefit to the self-employed; the estimated increase in PRSI rates which would be required to meet this cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50441/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Self-employed contributors pay class S PRSI at a rate of 4.1%. This is 11.15 percentage points lower than the combined employer and employee contribution of 15.25% made in respect of employed contributors. However, self-employed contributors do have access to over 90% of benefits available to employed contributors.

The cost of extending illness benefit to the self-employed was considered as part of the last Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund as at 31 December 2020 which was published in March 2023. The review found that if the benefit was extended to all self-employed contributors from 2024, the annual cost to the Social insurance Fund would be around €87 million by the end of 2030. The PRSI class S rate would need to be increased by 0.48 percentage points to cover the cost of this extension to the self-employed.

The Programme for Government includes an action to explore the option of giving self-employed workers access to illness benefit by means of making a higher PRSI contribution. My Department has commenced work in this regard. This work includes analysis and assessments of potential costings and the appropriate PRSI rates required in those contexts.

Any changes to the current system would need to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context.