Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
768. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she plans to change the treatment of persons who are in receipt of supplementary pension payment in the context of customer service and general treatment by her Department (details supplied). [12839/24]
View answerInformation regarding the terms and conditions of the Supplementary Pension provided to retired teachers is a matter for the Department of Education. The Department of Social Protection has no policy role in determining that a retired teacher should apply for a social welfare payment nor does it administer the supplementary pension. Any queries in this regard is a matter for the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform which has policy responsibility in this area.
Any person who retires before the State Pension age of age 66 may qualify for the social insurance contribution-based Jobseeker’s Benefit or the means-tested Jobseeker’s Allowance if they satisfy the qualifying conditions for these schemes. One of the statutory qualifying conditions for the jobseekers’ schemes is that a person must be available for and genuinely seeking full-time employment. The qualifying conditions are designed for universal applicability, regardless of the previous employment or profession. These universal qualifying conditions cannot be amended for one sector.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
