Vol. 531 No. 1
122 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will amend the rules governing dental benefit, in order that persons who have been paying class A contributions who take up self-employment can continue to claim dental benefit for at least three years. [5048/01]
The PRSI contribution conditions relating to entitlement to dental benefit as well as the other treatment benefits vary depending on the age of the insured person. Persons must also have been insurably employed and paid appropriate rates of PRSI for a certain length of time.
Persons aged under 21 years of age must have at least 39 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work in order to qualify while persons aged from 21 to 24 years of age must have at least 39 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work and 39 weeks paid or credited in the relevant tax year of which a minimum of 13 weeks must be paid contributions. In the case of persons aged from 25 to 65 years of age the requirement is that they have at least 260 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work and 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the relevant tax year of which a minimum of 13 weeks must be paid contributions.
The contribution conditions for treatment benefit, which are set down in regulations, are in line with those applying to other social insurance benefit schemes. These conditions are necessary to ensure the continuing viability of the scheme while directing limited resources towards those in greatest need. They also ensure a realistic relationship between entitlement to benefit and a continuing or recent attachment to the workforce through an active PRSI contribution record.
A person who becomes self-employed and who is entitled to treatment benefit by virtue of contributions paid or credited on his or her behalf as an employee can continue to remain so entitled to benefit for a period of 21 months after the end of the contribution year in which he ceased his employment. Any changes in the insurance conditions for receipt of treatment benefits would have financial implications and is a matter for consideration within the constraints of budgetary policy and the best targeting of available resources. The operation of the dental benefit scheme is subject to ongoing monitoring by my Department.
123 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will allow for one-parent books to be split between parents in view of the fact that in some cases a child spends three nights a week with one partner but this person gets no payment for minding the child, either one-parent family allowance or child benefit. [5084/01]
To qualify for the one parent family payment, a person must, among other things, have main care and charge of at least one qualified child. Only one allowance can be paid. This means that, for instance, where one parent has care of a child for most of the week that parent may, subject to the other qualifying conditions, receive payment of the one-parent family payment. In cases where both parents claim joint equal custody, neither can be considered to have main care and charge of the child and so a one-parent family payment cannot be paid.
The review of the one-parent family payment, published in September 2000, examined the issues surrounding joint custody agreements and the social welfare system. It considered a range of measures to afford these arrangements some recognition within the system. However, it was unable to suggest a solution which did not compromise the basis of the one-parent family payment, erode the effectiveness of payments such as child benefit or create other anomalies within the system. Accordingly, there are no plans at present to introduce arrangements along the lines suggested by the Deputy. However, in the circumstances outlined it may be possible for both parents to receive income tax relief through the lone parent's tax allowance. Details are available from the Revenue Commissioners.
