Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 21 Apr 1999

Vol. 503 No. 4

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.

Ivor Callely

Question:

59 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs his Department's position regarding home helps' entitlement to claim other social welfare benefits, such as unemployment, invalidity and disability benefits, in view of the valuable role played by home helps. [10266/99]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern):

A person employed as a home help by a health board is covered by social insurance in the same way as any other part time employee. PRSI class A is payable in any week where weekly earnings are £30 per week or more. PRSI at the class A rate provides cover for the full range of contributory benefits and pensions, including unemployment benefit, disability benefit and invalidity pension.

PRSI class J is payable where weekly earnings fall below £30 per week. PRSI at the class J rate provides cover for occupational injuries benefits only.

Home helps benefit from the PRSI free allowance which exempts employees from making an employee contribution on the first £100 of weekly earning.

Home helps, who fulfil the contribution conditions, are eligible to apply for unemployment benefit for any days or weeks during which they are not engaged in home help duties but are otherwise available for work. This is subject to the general conditions applying to unemployment benefit, i.e. that claimants must be unemployed for at least three out of six days, and must have suffered a substantial loss of employment. Home helps may also apply for unemployment assistance; again this is subject to the general conditions applying to that scheme. Home helps paying class A PRSI may apply for disability benefit during periods of illness or invalidity pension in the event of permanent capacity for work, as well as pensions in due course.

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

61 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the preliminary investigative work, if any, he has carried out to establish support, on the lines of family income supplement, for workers on a very low income in self employment. [10349/99]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern):

Self-employed people whose income falls below the rate of unemployment assistance, UA, appropriate to their family circumstances are entitled to claim UA. The rate of UA payable depends on the person's means. In assessing means, account is taken of the net income which the applicant may reasonably expect to receive in the next year.

The Deputy will be aware that the family income supplement scheme was introduced in 1984 with the specific purpose of providing an incentive to low-paid employees with families to take up or remain in full-time employment.

The question of extending the scheme to cover the self-employed has been considered on a number of occasions. Such consideration would have regard to a range of factors including the practical difficulties associated with extending the scheme to the self-employed, the arrangements already in place to provide income support to self-employed people on low incomes and the cost of introducing such a measure in the context of the need to prioritise the use of the limited resources available for the development of wider social welfare system.

The Deputy will be aware that a separate social assistance scheme has recently been introduced to provide enhanced income support to low-income farmers. If FIS were to be extended to all other self-employed people, the costs involved have been estimated to amount to some £47 million, assuming substantial take-up.