Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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668. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the rationale for the significant disparity between the rate of illness benefit, currently €244 per week, and the rate of jobseeker's benefit which can be up to €450 per week; and if consideration will be being given to reviewing the illness benefit payment rate to ensure parity and adequate income support for persons who are unable to work due to serious illness or disability. [61716/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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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.

A key feature of the social insurance system is the requirement to maintain a balance between coverage for various contingencies, such as illness benefit, with the sustainability of the Social Insurance Fund. Given that illness benefit may be paid for a maximum duration of two years, subject to the other scheme conditions being met, the current contribution requirements and graduation of payment rates are considered to be proportionate and appropriate.

The Programme for Government includes an action "Introduce Pay-Related Parent's Benefit and explore other payments where a similar model could be applied." My Department recently introduced jobseeker’s pay-related benefit and the experience from this scheme as it continues to roll out will help inform the considerations around the extension of a pay-related approach for other benefits. The initial focus is on parent’s benefit and work is ongoing within the Department.

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 matters for the Deputy.