Vol. 528 No. 2
171 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the structure of the Social Insurance Fund; the current surplus; the categories of payment which will be made from this Fund; if these have been extended; its future use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30019/00]
PRSI contributions are made by employers, employees and the self employed and are paid into the social insurance fund. The fund comprises two accounts, a current account and an investment account. I manage the current account which is used to pay for social insurance benefits and pensions. The investment account is managed by the Minister for Finance and the moneys in the investment account are managed for the benefit of the fund.
The social insurance fund was initially established in 1953. From its establishment up to and including 1996, annual expenditure from the fund exceeded receipts thereby necessitating a contribution to the fund from the Exchequer. The fund was in surplus for the first time in 1997 and it is projected that the fund will have an annual surplus of £341 million in 2000. The cumulated surplus at the end of 1999 was £329 million.
I am making a tabular statement available to the Deputy which details the various benefits, pensions and other payments made from the fund. Over the years the various schemes have been modified and extended and increased costs arising from these are financed from the fund. The carer's benefit introduced last October was the last new scheme to be funded from the fund. No new category of payment will be financed by the fund in 2001. As the House is aware, the social insurance fund is in a healthy financial situation at the moment. This is due to increased levels of employment, lower levels of unemployment and the buoyant economic climate generally. This surplus will not continue indefinitely as ageing of the population will greatly increase demands on the fund over the medium to long-term. Clearly, it is important that the fund's surplus should be used to best advantage having regard to emerging demands and the overall interest of its contributors. As announced recently, the Minister for Finance and I are arranging to have an early examination of possible strategies in this regard.
Benefits and pensions paid from the social insurance fund: old age (contributory) pension; retirement pension; widow's-widower's (contributory) pension; widowed parent grant; deserted wife's benefit; orphan's contributory pension; disability benefit; maternity benefit; adoptive benefit; health and safety benefit; invalidity pension; occupational injuries benefits; carer's benefit; bereavement grant; unemployment benefit; free schemes (paid to social insurance beneficiaries only); treatment benefits; redundancy and insolvency payments.
