Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 March 2017
114. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person who, in the relevant year, was both self-employed and employed as a PAYE worker and made 52 paid S class contributions and in excess of 13 paid A class contributions, would have an entitlement to jobseeker's benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15729/17]
View answerTo qualify for jobseeker’s benefit a person must satisfy certain contribution conditions. The first condition is a person must have at least 104 reckonable contributions (classes A, H or P) paid since they entered insurable employment. Class S self-employed contributions are not reckonable for jobseeker’s benefit purposes.
To satisfy the second condition, a person must have at least 39 reckonable contributions paid or credited in the Governing Contribution Year (GCY). Of these, 13 of the contributions must be paid or the person must have at least 26 reckonable contributions paid in both the GCY and the year immediately preceding it (the GCY is the second last complete contribution year - 01 January to 31 December - before the year in which the claim is made).
If a person has not 13 paid contributions in the relevant GCY, they must have the 13 contributions paid in either of the two tax years before the relevant GCY or the last complete tax year or the current tax year.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
