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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 14 May 1981

Vol. 328 No. 14

Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Pay Related Social Insurance.

17.

asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will give on a regional basis the number of employers who have not forwarded PRSI contributions; the number of workers thereby deprived of benefit; the steps being taken to meet the benefit needs of the workers concerned; the steps taken and proposed to obtain these contributions; the amount of money owed in each case; and the number of prosecutions pending for non-payments.

Pay-related social insurance contributions are collected by the Collector-General of the Revenue Commissioners through the PAYE system on behalf of my Department.

The Revenue Commissioners have intimated that end-of-year returns from approximately 10,000 employers registered for PAYE are still outstanding. A breakdown on a regional basis is not available and until returns are submitted it would not be possible to state how many employees are involved or the amount of PRSI contributions due. Action is, however, being taken in outstanding cases to secure compliance with the relevant statutory provisions. In suitable cases the employers are prosecuted from failure to submit the end-of-year returns. At present 305 of these prosecutions are awaiting hearing.

Under the Social Welfare Acts there is provision for the grant of special contribution credits which enables payment of benefit to be made immediately in all such cases. This ensures that claimants do not suffer any loss or reduction of social welfare benefit arising from the negligence or failure of an employer to pay outstanding contributions or to make the necessary end-of-year returns to the Revenue Commissioners.

It is therefore in the interests of both employers and employees to ensure that end of the year returns are submitted promptly to the Revenue Commissioners.

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