Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 11 Jun 1996

Vol. 466 No. 6

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.

Declan Bree

Ceist:

126 Mr. Bree asked the Minister for Social Welfare when a decision will be made in respect of a disability benefit claim which was submitted to his Department in January 1996 by a person (details supplied) in County Sligo; whether it normally takes in excess of four months to make a decision on such a claim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12140/96]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

The person concerned claimed disability benefit from 11 January 1996. Her claim has now been allowed and a cheque was issued to her on 7 June 1996 for £62.50 representing her full entitlement for the period 15 to 20 January, after which she was certified fit to resume work. She was not qualified for disability benefit on the basis of her Irish social insurance record and there was an inadvertent delay in seeking her insurance record in respect of her employment in Northern Ireland. The Department regrets the delay in the case and any inconvenience caused to the person concerned.

Joe Walsh

Ceist:

127 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Social Welfare the estimated number of self-employed persons who have paid PRSI contributions but who may fail to qualify for an old age contributory pension in view of the fact that they were over 56 years of age in 1988; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12165/96]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

To qualify for an old age contributory pension, a person must have entered insurance at least ten years before pension age. This condition has been a feature of the scheme since it was introduced in 1961 and its objective is to link entitlement to pension with a reasonable level of contributions to the Social Insurance Fund. It applies to all insured persons, including the self-employed.

While precise figures are difficult to calculate it was estimated that up to 50,000 self-employed people may fail to qualify for an old age contributory pension because they were over 56 years of age in 1988 when social insurance for the self-employed was introduced — this was very much an upper limit estimate. Many of these people are likely, however, to qualify for an old age non-contributory pension, which is subject to a means test. Also, the contributions they will have paid give cover for survivor's contributory pension to which entitlement can arise after three years' insurance. Persons who enter social insurance for the first time after reaching 56 years of age, may be entitled to a refund of the old age pension element of their contributions provided that they are not entitled to or in receipt of an old age non-contributory pension.

Where a person has less than ten years self-employment contributions paid but has earlier insurance as an employed or voluntary contributor for any period before age 56, both forms of contribution may be combined for purposes of assessing entitlement to pension.

Also, social insurance contributions paid in an EU member state can be combined with contributions paid here to qualify for an old age contributory pension. Social security contributions paid in a country outside the EU, but with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement, can be combined with contributions paid here to qualify for a special pension under the agreement. This latter situation arises only when the applicant does not have an underlying entitlement to a pension under existing social security legislation in either member state.