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Enhanced Illness Benefit for COVID-19
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
The enhanced rate of Illness Benefit came to an end on Friday 30 September 2022.
If you have received a COVID-19 diagnosis or have been advised to self-isolate and have medical certification from your GP, you can still apply for Illness Benefit. If you meet the qualifying conditions, you may be entitled to a standard rate Illness Benefit payment.
If you were in receipt of Enhanced Illness Benefit for a period before and after 30 September 2022, your payment may have reduced or stopped from the 1 October 2022 based on your contribution history.
If you were diagnosed with COVID-19 before 1 October you may be entitled to the Enhanced Illness Benefit rate up until 30 September 2022. After this date standard Illness Benefit rates apply based on your PRSI contributions.
If you were working, and you were told to self-isolate or restrict your movements by a doctor, in line with public health guidance, due to being a probable source of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) infection and were symptomatic you could have applied for an Enhanced Illness Benefit payment of €350 per week.
All eligible employees and self-employed people (other than public sector employees), including non-nationals and people living in Direct Provision, could get this payment.
To get this payment, you had to be absent from work and confined to your home (self-isolating) or a medical facility before 30 September 2022.
You had to be self-isolating or restricting your movements on the instruction of a doctor, in line with public health guidance, due to being symptomatic and a probable source of COVID-19 infection or diagnosed with COVID-19.
An Enhanced Illness Benefit claim form could be submitted either online or by post.
Medical evidence from your GP in the form of a Certificate of Incapacity for Work has to accompany any claim for Illness Benefit, and was required for the Enhanced rate to be paid.
If you are employed, you must:
The Enhanced rate of Illness Benefit was available to people who are self-employed. For those who were self-employed, you must:
If you test positive for COVID-19, or you are ill for another reason and you cannot work, and if you meet the qualifying conditions, you may be entitled to a standard rate Illness Benefit payment. You should apply for standard Illness Benefit. This requires a Certificate of Incapacity for Work and the submission of an application form (IB1).
If you are cocooning on health grounds, you are not eligible for the enhanced rate of Illness Benefit. You may qualify for standard Illness Benefit with all normal rules applying.
The personal rate for this payment was €350 per week, as compared with the normal Illness Benefit rate of €208. The rate of €350 stopped on 30 September 2022. Standard Illness Benefit rates apply from the 1 October 2022.
Please note: social welfare payments are paid on a daily basis over 6 days excluding Sundays.
Enhanced Illness Benefit was paid for a maximum of 7 days where a person was self-isolating due to being a probable source of infection, and for a maximum of 10 weeks if a person had been diagnosed with COVID-19 (Coronavirus). If a person had been certified for less than 10 weeks, they were paid for the duration of their certificate. If you were certified beyond 30 September 2022, your payment reduced or stopped from the 1 October 2022. This was dependent on if you qualified for standard Illness Benefit or not.
To apply for the Enhanced rate of Illness Benefit, you needed a basic MyGovID account.
To apply for standard Illness Benefit, you must get a doctor to examine you.
You may have to pay for this exam, but you can get the 'Certificate of Incapacity for Work’ for free as the department pays for it.
Your doctor will provide you with:
Alternatively, you can apply online using the Illness Benefit option on MyWelfare.ie:
The supporting medical evidence or documentation you send as part of your application can be:
You have to notify the department when you are fit to return to work.
Your doctor needs to mark your last Certificate of Incapacity for Work as final before you go back to work.
If you cannot get the certificate marked, you should notify the department at:
If you need to close your claim earlier than expected you can contact the department by email or phone using the details below.