Borderwise Booklets
Issue 1
10TH January 2007
Going South – Social Security/Welfare
©
NIACAB (Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux)
This information
sheet aims to provide a general overview of the Social Security benefits which
are available in the Republic of Ireland. It outlines what social welfare
benefits may be available if you have children, are unemployed, sick, have a
disability, need help to pay specific expenses, or are otherwise in need of
financial support. It also gives details of how welfare payments may be
exported from Northern Ireland.
S2 Going South –
Social Security/Welfare
This information
sheet aims to provide a general overview of the Social Security benefits which
are available in Ireland. Please note you must be "habitually resident" in Ireland to qualify for social assistance payments. In order to meet this condition you must have
lived in Ireland for 2 or more years, and have a settled intention to remain
there and make it your permanent home. If you have lived in other parts of the Common Travel Area (Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for two or more
years and then move to Ireland with the intention of settling here, you are
also quite likely to satisfy the habitual residence condition.
Department of Social and Family Affairs
The Department of
Social and Family Affairs (DFSA) is responsible for social security / welfare
payments. You can get application forms and further information about all
benefits from local social welfare offices. Most application forms are
available on-line. www.welfare.ie
A small number of
payments are available from the Health Service Executive (HSE). You may apply
for HSE payments from local health offices or health centres: www.hse.ie
Unemployment Benefits
Jobseeker’s
Benefit
You may qualify
for jobseeker’s benefit if you are
- unemployed,
- aged under 66
- capable of
work, available for work and genuinely seeking work and
- have enough Personal
Public Service (PPS No) contributions
Contributions
paid in Northern Ireland may be combined with contributions from ROI to help
you qualify. Usually the country where you last paid social insurance is
responsible for considering your entitlement to a contribution based
unemployment payment (see below for important exception to this rule in the
case of Frontier Workers). Essentially jobseeker’s benefit is the equivalent
of contribution based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) in NI.
Jobseeker’s
Benefit is payable for a maximum of 65 weeks or 52 weeks if you have less than
five years contributions. Extra amounts may be paid for adult and child
dependants. Application can be made at a local social welfare office.
Jobseeker’s
Allowance
If you are not
entitled to UB or you have exhausted your entitlement, you may qualify for UA
if you are resident in the South and unemployed, capable of work, available for
work and genuinely seeking work, aged between 18 and 66 and you pass a means
test.
The main item s
that count as means include;
- cash income
belonging to you, your spouse or partner
- the value of
any savings, investments, shares or land
- any property
you my have (other than your own home)
- maintenance
paid to you if you are separated
It is possible to
have some income from a part time job or from self-employment and still qualify
for some UA. It is effectively the equivalent of income based JSA in NI.
Transferring
Jobseekers Allowance
If you are
unemployed and receiving contribution based JSA in NI you may be able to
transfer this benefit to the South if you go there to live and look for work.
You must have been receiving contribution based JSA for at least four weeks
before you go. You should contact the local Social Security/Jobs and Benefits
office where you claimed JSA before you move in order to process the
paperwork. You should be given Form E303. When you arrive in the South, you
should go to a FÁs Employment
Services office within seven days. You will get the same JSA payment as you
were receiving in NI (converted to euro). Your right to receive JSA in ROI
lasts for a maximum of 13 weeks (78 days). If you are still unemployed at the
end of that time, you may apply for Unemployment Assistance. Generally income
based JSA cannot be transferred.
Frontier Workers
If you are a frontier worker
living in NI and you lose your job in ROI, you may use your PRSI contributions
to claim contributions based JSA in NI. You must meet the other conditions for
JSA. If you become partially unemployed, you should claim UB from the DSFA.
Sickness
Payments
Illness
Benefit
In ROI there is
no equivalent to Statutory Sick Pay which is available in NI. If you are ill,
unable to work, aged under 66 and you have enough PRSI contributions you may qualify
for Illness Benefit (IB). IB is payable from the 4th day of
illness. It is payable for 12 months or up to age 66 if you have at least five
years PRSI contributions. You may combine any contributions paid in NI with
your PRSI contributions in order to qualify. It may be to your advantage to
change to Invalidity Pension after 12 months, if you are eligible.
If you are
entitled to paid sick leave under the terms of your contract, you may be
obliged to pay your IB to your employer or the sick pay you receive may be
reduced by the amount of IB – this depends on the precise terms of your
contract of employment.
Invalidity
Pension
You may qualify
for this pension if you have been on IB for at least 12 months and are unable
to work for the next year. It remains payable indefinitely but most people
transfer to Old Age Contributory Pension at age 66 if they are eligible (see
Leaflet S4 Going South – Retirement).
Transfer of
Payments
Incapacity
Benefit can be transferred to the South if you move there to live. You should
get prior approval from the Social Security Agency in NI.
If you move to
the South to look for work and transfer your JSA to the South and then become
ill, you may apply for and get Incapacity Benefit instead.
Frontier
Workers
Under EU
regulations it is generally the case that the country where you last paid
social insurance is liable to consider your entitlement to sickness benefits.
Therefore, a frontier worker living in NI who becomes ill when working in the
South can qualify for IB, Invalidity Pension or Occupational Injuries Benefits.
(See Disability Payments).
Claims for IB are
usually made in the South through your GP. Since GPs in NI do not hold the
relevant application forms, you should contact a local Social Welfare office
and request a claim form – DBOB1. Alternatively, a claim can be made for
Incapacity Benefit in NI, which will be referred to DSFA in Dublin for payment.
Disability
Allowance
Disability
Allowance is a means tested payment made to people aged between 16 and 66, resident
in the Republic of Ireland, who are unable to work because of a physical or
mental illness, which has continued or may reasonably be expected to continue
for at least a year.
Disability and Carers Payments
Transferring
Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Carer’s Allowance
In general, these
NI payments cannot be exported to the South but certain very long-term
recipients may be able to transfer them – generally, you must have been
receiving Attendance Allowance or DLA before June 1992. Carer’s Allowance may
only be transferred if the person being cared for can transfer their payment.
Carer’s
Allowance
In the Republic of Ireland you may qualify for Carer’s Allowance if you are aged 18 or over,
resident in the South and are caring for a person who needs full time care and
attention and you pass a means test. If the person being cared for is under
16, he/she must be receiving a Domiciliary Care Allowance from the Health
Service Executive.
The means test is based on
the income of the carer and the carer’s spouse or partner but an amount of the
spouse’s or partner’s income is disregarded. The allowance is payable while
the conditions are being met.
Domiciliary
Care Allowance
A Domiciliary
Care Allowance may be paid if you are resident in the South, caring for a child
under 16 who has a severe disability and needs substantially greater care than
a child who does not have a disability. It is payable by the HSE.
Respite Care Grant
You may get an
annual respite care grant if you are receiving Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s
Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance or if you are not receiving any carer
payment but are providing full time care and attention to a person who needs
it.
Carer’s Benefit
You may qualify
for Carer’s Benefit if you give up work to care for a person who needs full
time care and attention and you have enough PRSI contributions. If you are a
frontier worker living in NI and employed in the South you can qualify for
Carer’s Benefit if you meet the care and contribution conditions. If you are
living in NI and getting Carer’s Benefit you will also qualify for the Respite
Care Grant.
Blind Pension
Blind Pension is
a means tested payment for people who are resident in the South, aged 18 or
over and who are visually impaired. Visually impaired people aged 16 – 18 may
get Disability Allowance.
Blind Welfare
Allowance
Blind Welfare
Allowance is a means tested payment, which may be paid by the HSE to visually
impaired people who are receiving Blind Pension or Disability Allowance.
Occupational Injuries
Benefit
This Scheme is
equivalent to the Industrial Injuries Scheme in NI. There are a number of
different benefits for people who are injured as a result of an accident at
work or who suffer from a work related illness. The most common of these is
Injury Benefit which is payable following an accident at work. If you have a
long-term disability as a result of the accident you may qualify for
Disablement Benefit. If you are a frontier worker resident in NI and employed
in the south you may qualify for these benefits if you are injured in an
accident at work or contact a prescribed disease at work.
Further
Information
Entitlements
for People with Disabilities 2005 Comhairle.
Maternity Payments
Maternity
Benefit/Adoptive Benefit
You may get Maternity
Benefit (MB) or Adoptive Benefit (AB) if you are entitled to maternity or
adoptive leave and you have paid enough PPS No contributions. You may also
qualify if you are self-employed and have paid enough contributions. MB is
payable for 26 weeks. AB is payable for 24 weeks If you are entitled to
maternity pay under your contract of employment you may have to pay your MB
to your employer or may have your pay reduced by the amount of MB.
State maternity
payments are generally paid by the state in which the mother was last employed,
and payments can be transferred or exported if the mother moves to another
EU/EEA state.
If you were
previously insurably employed in NI or any other country covered by EU
Regulations and you have paid at least one full rate contribution in the South,
you may combine your insurance contributions to help you qualify for Maternity
or Adoptive Benefit.
Health and Safety Benefit
Health and Safety
Benefit is a weekly payment for women who are granted health and safety leave
because their employer cannot remove a risk to health or safety during
pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
Payments for Families and Children
Child Benefit
You may get Child
Benefit (CB) if you are caring for a child under 16 years of age or under 19
and in full time education or, attending a FAS Youthreach course or physically
or mentally disabled and dependent on you. There is no means test and it is
not based on social insurance contributions. Payment of family benefits such
as CB may be governed by where you work or receive contributory benefits from
rather than where you live. This may mean that a frontier worker resident in
NI will receive CB from the South. The rules around family benefits are complex
and frontier workers may find that entitlement to one family benefit may impact
on entitlement to another.
Early
Childcare Supplement
Early Childcare
Supplement is a payment made to parents with children who are under six years
of age. A payment of €250 is made every 3 months along with Child Benefit.
Frontier workers living in NI and employed in the South may receive the
supplement.
Family Income
Supplement
Family Income
Supplement (FIS) is a weekly payment for families where a parent is working but
receiving low pay. It is payable to employees only, working at least 19 hours
per week (or 38 hours every fortnight). The family must be responsible for one
child aged under 18 or aged 18 -22 in full time education. It is paid on the
basis of insurable employment in the South so a frontier worker living in NI
and working in the South may qualify depending on their income level.
Orphans
Payments
An Orphan’s
(Contributory) Allowance may be payable if the deceased parent had enough PRSI
contributions. It may also be paid if a child is abandoned by his/her parents.
It is paid to the child’s guardian until the age of 18 or until the age of 22
if the child continues in full time education. It can be paid to a guardian living
in NI. Orphan’s (Non-contributory) Pension is a means tested payment that may
be available to a guardian who is resident in the South.
One Parent
Family Payment
A One-Parent
Family Payment (OFP) may be paid to a parent living in the South who is
bringing up children alone. It is means tested and it is possible to have some
income from employment and remain entitled to some of the payment. The parent
may be unmarried, widowed, a prisoner’s spouse, separated or divorced. You are
expected to look for maintenance from your spouse, former spouse or other
parent.
Child Tax Credit /
Working Tax Credit
These payments are detailed
in leaflet N2 Going North Social Welfare / Social Security. Frontier workers
resident in NI who are employed or self-employed in the South may qualify.
Retirement
Payments
The rules in relation to State
Retirement Pensions are described in Booklet S4 Going South – Retirement.
Bereavement Benefits
Widow’s/Widower’s
Contributory Pension
You may qualify
for a Widow’s/Widower’s Contributory Pension on the basis of either your own or
your late spouse’s contributions but you may not combine these. You may
combine contributions paid in NI with those in the South in order to qualify.
If your late spouse and/or you paid contributions in the South and in NI you
may qualify for a full or partial Widow’s/Widower’s Pension from both
jurisdictions. There is also scope for combining contributions from NI and the
South in order to qualify for a Pro Rata Widow’s/Widower’s Contributory
Pension. This pension is payable as long as you remain a widow/widower.
Widow’s/Widower’s
Non-Contributory Pension
If you do not
qualify for a contributory pension, are resident in the South and you do not
have a dependent child, you may qualify for the means tested non-contributory
pension. If you do have a dependent child, you should apply for the One Parent
Family Payment. This pension is payable as long as you remain a widow/widower
or until the age of 66 when you may apply for an Old Age Pension.
Widowed
Parent’s Grant
You may qualify
for a grant – currently €2,700 - if you have dependent children at the time of
your spouse’s death and you qualify for a Widow’s/Widower’s contributory or
non-contributory pension or a One Parent Family Payment or Bereavement Grant.
Bereavement
Grant
A Bereavement
Grant may be paid on the death of a person who has enough contributions or the
death of their spouse or child.
Transfer of
Bereavement Payments
Contributory
Widow/Widowers Pension are payable in the South if you move there to live.
General
Supplementary
Welfare Allowance (SWA)
The SWA scheme is
designed for people who are resident in the South and who do not have enough
income to meet their needs. The rules are set out by the Department of Social
and Family Affairs and it is administered by the HSE. You should apply at your
nearest HSE local office or health centre. There are a number of different
elements to the scheme. Your entitlement is dependent on your circumstances
and each application is assessed on its merits. In general, you do not qualify
if you are employed but there are some exceptions to this.