From Department of Social Protection
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Social Protection Minister, Heather Humphreys TD, secured Government approval this afternoon to introduce a new Bill, which will ensure PRSI contributions are attributed to people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment or whose salaries are being supported by the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.
When enacted, this primary legislation will ensure that people who lost their jobs, or were temporarily laid-off, during the COVID-19 pandemic will be credited with full or ‘paid’ PRSI contributions on their social insurance record equivalent to those that they would have made if they remained in work. This means that people who lost their jobs on foot of the public health crisis will not lose out in accessing social insurance benefits.
Minister Humphreys stated:
“I am very pleased that I secured approval from Government this afternoon to go ahead and legislate to ensure that the social insurance record of workers who lost their jobs arising from the health crisis is maintained.
“Due to the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the legislation will provide for the award of paid contributions for employees at the same PRSI contribution class as when they were in employment immediately before being laid off.”
Minister Humphreys added:
“This will be important in order to protect a person’s entitlement to future payments - both long-term payments, such as pensions, but particularly shorter term payments such as Illness, Maternity and Paternity Benefits. It is a fair and right approach and I hope to ensure this legislation is passed by the Dáil in the coming period.”
Recipients of Jobseeker’s payments who lost employment since 13 March and who were in receipt of a Jobseeker’s payment and employees on the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme will also benefit from this measure.
The new PRSI measure was confirmed as it emerged over 66,000 fewer people are in receipt of a Pandemic Unemployment Payment compared to last week. This represents the single largest weekly drop since the payment was introduced by the government.
Welcoming the figures, Ms Humphreys said:
“It is heartening to see that the phased approach set out in the Roadmap for Reopening is now being reflected in the number of people returning to work. These figures are reassuring for employees, businesses and communities throughout the State as they clearly show people are getting back to work with a significant fall in the number of people in every county receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.”
She added:
"The government is now finalising its work on preparing the July Economic stimulus package that will drive our economic recovery. I am confident this will help the thousands of workers and businesses who were badly impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
ENDS
When people are at work and paying social insurance contributions they are recorded as having made ‘paid’ social insurance contributions. All social insurance benefits require a minimum number of paid social insurance contributions. In some cases (for example: jobseeker, illness and maternity/paternity benefit) the contributions must be paid within a specific period prior to accessing the benefit.
In addition to ‘paid’ contributions people can, in certain circumstances receive credited contributions.
Credited contributions (credits) are social insurance contributions awarded in circumstances such as unemployment or illness, and their purpose is to help maintain the social insurance entitlements of insured people during periods when they may not be in a position to pay contributions.
However, credits cannot be used to satisfy the requirement to have a minimum number of paid contributions made within a specific period and thereby gain access to an entitlement. Credits are only of value to a person who satisfies the requirement to have a minimum number of “paid” contributions.