asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he proposes to introduce legislation to enable self-employed persons to become eligible for social welfare benefits.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Self-Employed Persons.
8.
Self-employed persons are eligible for benefits under the various non-contributory social welfare schemes such as old age pension, widows' and orphans' pensions, unemployment assistance and children's allowances. They are, however, not insurable under the social insurance system and thus cannot qualify for any of the benefits of that system. The question of extending social insurance to the self-employed is being examined in my Department. The Green Paper on a national income-related pension scheme which will be published later this year as a discussion document, will raise a number of matters regarding pensions for the self-employed which will be relevant to this examination. The introduction of legislation will depend on the outcome of the examination.