Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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1145. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if self-employed workers with PRSI contributions in category S can avail of carers benefit if they meet other criteria; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19161/21]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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1146. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she plans to extend the eligibility of self-employed persons to avail of carers benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19162/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1145 and 1146 together.

Self-employed workers who earn €5,000 or more in a contribution year, are liable to pay social insurance contributions at the 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.

In addition, my department introduced two emergency income support payments at the onset of Covid-19. These are the pandemic unemployment payment which is available for employees and self-employed workers who have lost their employment income due to Covid-19 and an enhanced illness benefit payment which is available to employees and self-employed workers for a maximum of two weeks where medically required to self-isolate or for the duration of absence from work following a confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19.

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, which was published in October 2017.

The Review indicates that if access to certain additional benefits, including carer's benefit, was extended to self-employed contributors, the class S rate of social insurance contribution would have to increase by 94% in order to ensure that the additional benefits are delivered in a revenue neutral manner. This rate of increase would bring the current class S contribution rate of 4% to 7.8% to cover the additional benefits only and does not take account of the value of the existing benefits to such contributors at the time of the Review.

Since the Review was published, self-employed contributors have gained access to invalidity pension from December 2017 and jobseeker's benefit (self-employed) and parent's benefit from November 2019 without any increase in their rate of contribution.

A commitment in the Programme for Government is to give consideration to increasing all classes of PRSI over time to replenish the Social Insurance Fund to help pay for measures and changes to be agreed including to the State pension system, improvements in short-term sick pay benefits, parental leave benefits, pay-related jobseeker's benefit and treatment benefits. In view of the significant access to a range of social insurance benefits in recent years without any increase in the rate of contribution by self-employed workers, access to the remaining benefits, including carer's benefit, will be considered in the context of this commitment.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.