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Invalidity Pension

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2020

Tuesday, 14 July 2020

Ceisteanna (780)

Holly Cairns

Ceist:

780. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason contribution conditions for the invalidity pension include a condition (details supplied). [15896/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Social insurance benefits are made available on the basis that when a certain contingency or risk materialises the person involved will need a replacement income. Benefits are intended to replace lost income where a person is, for some reason, not able to engage with the labour force. Invalidity Pension, for example, is payable where a person is permanently incapable of work. Where there is no recent history of contributions being paid or credited then there is no entitlement to most benefits.

Invalidity pension is a substantial and long-term payment for persons who are permanently incapable of work and who satisfy the social insurance conditions. A total of 260 weeks contributions paid and 48 weeks contributions paid or credited in the last complete tax year before the relevant date or in the tax year before the last complete tax year are required to satisfy the PRSI conditions for Invalidity Pension. The reckonable contribution classes are A, E, H and S.

A person may keep up their contribution record in a number of ways. One of these is by credited contributions. A credited contribution is a PRSI contribution awarded to an insured person under certain circumstances, such as proved unemployment. Credited contributions are an integral part of the social insurance system. For the most part they are linked to having an underlying entitlement to a social welfare payment while temporarily detached from the labour force or having entitlement to statutory leave. The primary purpose of credited contributions is to secure social welfare benefits and pensions of employees by covering gaps in insurance where they are not in a position to pay PRSI such as during periods of unemployment, illness, etc. Credits ensure that a person’s insurance record is maintained and can be helpful at a later stage to qualify for other social welfare benefits, such as pensions or to increase the rate of pension that may become payable.

Appropriate social insurance contributions paid in another European Union Member-State can count for the purpose of bridging a contribution gap – provided that one social insurance contribution is made in Ireland.

Persons who have an insufficient contribution record to qualify for a social insurance benefit may apply for the appropriate means-tested social assistance scheme. For example persons, between the ages of 16 and 66 who are suffering from an illness or disability which is expected to last at least 1 year, may qualify for disability allowance. Disability allowance recipients must be habitually resident in the State.

Question No. 781 answered with Question No. 690.
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