Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 September 2024
217. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the annual cost to the Exchequer of expanding the eligibility of the carer's benefit to include self-employed people; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37183/24]
View answerSelf-employed workers whose income is €5,000 or more in a contribution year are liable to pay social insurance contributions at the PRSI class S rate of 4%, subject to a minimum annual payment of €500. Such contributors are currently covered for a wide range of social insurance benefits including State pension (contributory), widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension (contributory), guardian’s payment (contributory), maternity, adoptive and paternity benefits, treatment benefits, invalidity pension, partial capacity benefit (if in receipt of invalidity pension), jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed) and parent’s benefit.
The issue of extending additional social insurance benefits to self-employed persons paying class S social insurance contributions was considered in the Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund, conducted by independent consultants and published in March 2023.
The Review indicated that if access to carer's benefit was extended to self-employed contributors, the cost to the Social Insurance Fund in 2024 would be approximately €7.1 million, increasing annually thereafter.
It should be noted that there has been an extensive expansion of access to the range of social insurance benefits by self-employed social insurance contributors in recent years without any increase in the 4% rate of contribution made by them. In effect, self-employed contributors, in return for a contribution of 11 percentage points lower than the combined employer and employee contribution of 15.05% made in respect of employed contributors, have access to benefits which comprise over 90% of the value of all benefits available to employed contributors.
Any change to the entitlements of self-employed contributors could only be considered in a wider budgetary context, including the associated contribution rates.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
