Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 November 2023
350. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Questions 302, 303 and 304 of 14 November 2023, if she will address a matter in relation to test cases (details supplied). [51882/23]
View answerAs outlined in my reply to the above questions on 14 November, a number of so-called ‘test cases’ relating to the insurability status of a person were examined by the Department in the 1990s to support the identification of criteria that could be used by Deciding Officers and Appeals Officers for the purpose of assessing each case on an individual basis. The objective in doing so was to ensure consistency in decision making, something which I am sure the Deputy will accept is a necessary part of public administration. The criteria identified from the examination of these cases formed the basis of the approach subsequently agreed with the Social Partners under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and set out in the Code of Practice for the Determination of the Employment or Self-employment Status of Individuals. These criteria are set out in sections 7 and 8 of the Code of Practice and are applied by Deciding Officers and Appeals Officers on each occasion that they assess the insurability of a worker as being either an employee or self-employed. However, it is important to again stress that employment status decisions are never made by the Department or the Social Welfare Appeals Office without an investigation having been carried out into the actual circumstances of the person's engagement.
I trust that this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
