Vol. 441 No. 1
64 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Social Welfare in view of the fact that fishermen have the highest accident rate of any other occupation in the EU, the reason the social welfare benefit system for fishermen does not offer any occupational injury protection.
Prior to 1986, all fishermen were treated as employees by the PAYE and PRSI systems and were thus covered for all benefits including occupational injuries benefit.
In 1986, a High Court judgment ruled in the case of a particular fishing vessel that the skipper and his crew should not be regarded as employer and employees for PAYE purposes. However, fishermen continued to be regarded as employees for PRSI purposes until 1992 when the High Court ruled that share-fishermen should be regarded not as employees but as self-employed partners. As a result of this, they are deemed as Class S for the purposes of insurability under the Social Welfare Acts. In line with other self-employed workers, this gives them entitlement to long term benefits like pensions, but not to short term payments, or occupational injuries benefits.
In recognition of the unique position of share fishermen in regard to social insurance arising out of their exclusion from insurance as employees, I made provision in the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1993 to provide share fishermen with cover for unemployment, illness and treatment benefit. The new scheme gives share fishermen the option of paying special additional contributions with entitlements to unemployment benefit, disability benefit and treatment benefit. I am reviewing the operation of the new arrangements to see what further changes may be required and what may be possible within the existing legal framework.
