asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will introduce legislation to provide that continuity of social welfare insurance will be maintained in the case of a person who is compelled to give up employment to look after an aged relative at home so that the person will be entitled to all benefits and suffer no loss of contributions on resuming employment.
Ceistéanna—Questions Oral Answers - Social Welfare Insurance.
16.
Regulation under the Social Welfare Acts provide that employment contributions may be credited in the case of a person who has given up insurable employment to look after an aged relative and in respect of whom an increase in pension, or an old age (care) allowance, is payable. The employment contributions so credited ensure continuity of insurance and are reckonable for all benefits and pensions under the Acts on the cessation of the increase in pension or old age (care) allowance.
A person may be looking after an old parent for two years. The parent may die after two years and the person may have 25 or 30 years' contributions. Is that person entitled to social benefits?
The Social Welfare Contribution (Amendment No. 5) Regulation provides that credited employment contributions reckonable for all benefits and pensions under the Social Welfare Acts may be awarded to a prescribed relative on the cessation of the increase of pension or allowance for each week for which the increases in allowances are payable provided that the person concerned has had an employable contribution paid or credited in respect of him in either of the two complete contribution years preceding the date from which the increase or allowance was payable.
In many cases they may be three years or four years without paying contributions because they are looking after an old relative. The relative dies then.
As I understand it, when a prescribed relative is looking after an elderly person or an incapacitated person, he is credited and that is equivalent to a stamp.