Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 16 Oct 1996

Vol. 470 No. 2

Written Answers. - Credits Signing.

Michael Bell

Ceist:

89 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of men and women signing on credits over the past three years; the plans, if any, he has to revise this system in order to substantially reduce the administrative cost on this method of record keeping; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17188/96]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

The number of men and women signing for credits over the past three years is set out in the following table:

31 December 1993	30 December 1994	29 December 1995
Men	Women	Men	Women	Men	Women
2,663	13,539	2,652	11,853	3,244	13,771
Total = 16,202	Total = 14,505	Total = 17,015

In order to be entitled to the award of credited contributions, a person must be unemployed and available for and capable of but unable to obtain suitable employment.

Persons under the age of 55 sign for credits once a month while persons over the age of 55 sign once every three months. If a customer over the age of 55 considers that he or she has retired from the workplace it is open to him or her to apply for pre-retirement credits. This means that he or she will only be required to sign a declaration once a year.

I am satisfied with the arrangements in place for persons who sign the unemployed register for credited contributions and the administrative costs of these arrangements are not such as to warrant a change for that reason.