If you are not working:
Apply to your local health centre as you may be entitled to:
How much maternity benefit will I get?
Maternity Benefit Section
Locall 1890 690 690
Health and Safety Benefit Section
Locall 1890 690 690
www.welfare.ie
Medical care
Ante-natal (before birth) care and post-natal (after birth) care in the public health services are generally free to all women ordinarily resident in Ireland. Non medical card holders may have to pay some charges.
Maternity leave
You are entitled to Maternity Leave no matter how recently you have started work or how many hours you work per week. You are entitled to 26 weeks Maternity Leave.
You can also take an additional 16 weeks Maternity Leave, but you won’t get Maternity Benefit for these extra 16 weeks.
Paternity leave/benefit
As a result of new legislation, fathers (‘relevant parents’) are entitled to two weeks of paternity leave and two weeks of paternity benefit for babies born on or after 1st September 2016. Fathers may start the combined package of paternity leave and paternity benefit at any time within the first 6 months following birth or adoption of a child. The PRSI contribution conditions and the rate of benefit paid will be the same as those for Maternity Benefit (€245 per week). See here for further information.
A ‘relevant parent’ is:
The purpose of paternity leave is to allow the relevant parent to provide care to the child, or to provide assistance to the mother of the child, or the relevant adopting parent of the child.
Parental leave
Each parent is entitled to 18 weeks unpaid parental leave for each child. The leave must be taken before the child is 8 years old. For more information on how to avail of Maternity/Parental Leave contact Workplace Relations LoCall 1890 80 80 90 or see www.workplacerelations.ie
One-Parent Family Payment (0FP)
You are entitled to One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) if you:
To continue to get One-Parent Family Payment you must have at least one qualified child below the relevant age limit as outlined here:
If your child’s birthday is after July in the relevant year in which your claim ends, the OFP will continue to be paid until your child’s birthday in the same year.
Your entitlement to OFP is not affected:
The current maximum rate of OFP for a parent plus one child is €232.00. For every additional child you get €34.00 each per week (2019 Social Welfare Rates).
Parents who are no longer eligible for One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) because of the age of their youngest child can benefit from new transition arrangements for Jobseekers Allowance (JA) (See Jobseekers’s Transition Arrangement for OFP below)
Things you should know about maintenance payments
If you are getting Rent or Mortgage Interest Supplement*:
*For more information on Mortgage Interest Supplement see www.welfare.ie
Other Entitlements
You may also qualify from your local health centre for:
All payments are subject to the Habitual Residence Condition.
Parents who are no longer eligible for One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) because of the age of their youngest child can benefit from new transition arrangements for Jobseekers Allowance (JA). While JA recipients must be available for and genuinely seeking full-time work, under these new arrangements:
Conditions:
Parents will have access to the ‘Intreo’ activation supports to help them to progress to or to get into employment.
For more information call us on 1890 252 084 or find more information here.
To contact your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Local Office see here
Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme
Childcare Directory Tel: 01 647 3000 (10.00-12.30 / 2.30-4.00)
www.dcya.gov.ie
Child Benefit Section
LoCall 1890 400 400
One-Parent Family Payment
Contact your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Local Office see here
Social Welfare Appeals Office
LoCall 1890 747 434 Tel: 01 673 2800
www.socialwelfareappeals.ie
One-Parent Family Payment (OFP)
You may be entitled to One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) if you:
The current maximum rate of OFP for a parent plus one child is €232.00. For every additional child you get €34.00 each per week (2019 Social Welfare Rates)
Means Test: What counts as means?
See below how maintenance also affects your Rent or Mortgage Interest Supplement.
What else can I keep if I am working?
Working Family Payment (WFP)
You may qualify for the WFP, (formerly FIS) if you are working at least 19 hours a week on low wages. For a family with one child, wages after tax plus OFP must be less than €511 (€612 with two children) per week. The rate is higher if there are more children.
HAP is a form of housing support offered by Local Authorities to families and individuals who qualify for social housing support. Applicants seeking HAP must be on their local authority housing list. under HAP agreements, the Local Authority makes rent payments, subject to rent limits , directly to a private landlord. (Rent limits differ across local authorities). Your local authority housing department do NOT source housing, tenants must find their own property. Landlords must agree to accept HAP tenancy agreements. See below for contact details for the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government for further details.
If you are not working
You may qualify for Rent Supplement if you’re receiving a Social Welfare payment and living in private rented accommodation. You will have to make a minimum contribution of €30 per week towards the rent. The minimum contribution payable by cohabitants is €40 per week.
If you are working
If you take up part-time work (up to 30 hours a week) any ‘additional household income’ (AHI) – that is any income you receive over and above the full rate of Supplementary Welfare (€232.00 for an adult with one dependant child) – will be assessed as follows:
In general if you are working full-time (30 hours or over a week) you are not entitled to Rent Supplement. However, if you get full-time work and you have been accepted as being in need of accommodation under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) by your local authority, you may be able to keep your Rent Supplement (provided you have been unemployed or not in full-time employment for at least 12 months before you start work). The above assessment will apply.
For details of your Local Authority contact:
Department of the Housing, Planning and Local Government
LoCall 1890 20 20 21
www.environ.ie/en
Useful contacts:
One Parent Family Payment
Contact your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Local Office see here
Family Income Supplement Section
Locall 1890 927 770
Employment Support Services
Locall 1890 927 999
Facilitator at your Social Welfare Office
LoCall 1890 66 22 44
www.welfare.ie
Local Employment Services (Obair)
www.localemploymentservices.ie
You are entitled to:
*This tax credit is only available if you are not cohabiting or living with a civil partner/spouse. The tax credit is payable only to the main carer of the child. If the main carer is not working it may be possible to give this credit to the other carer/parent. See www.revenue.ie
It is possible to have tax credits back-dated (four years maximum) if they have not been claimed.
You will be taxed at the rate of 20% for the first €36,800 you earn and the rest at 41%. Maternity Benefit and OFP is taxable. Family Income Supplement is not taxable.
Universal Social Charge
If you earn less than €13,000 per year you do not have to pay the Universal Social Charge. If your income exceeds this limit you will pay the relevant rate of Universal Social Charge on all your income.
The following rates and thresholds apply:
income up to €12,012 @0.5%
next €7,862 @2%
next €50, 170 @4.5%
Income above €50, 170 @ 8%
Social Welfare payments are exempt from the Universal Social Charge. If you have a full Medical Card you will pay 0.5% on income up to €12,012 and a maximum of 2% on any income over €12, 120.
Revenue Commissioners’ LoCall numbers:
Border, Midlands, West Region
Locall 1890 777 425
Dublin Region
Locall 1890 333 425
Southwest Region
Locall 1890 222 425
East and Southeast Region
Locall 1890 444 525
If you are staying in school
You can still get One-Parent Family Payment (OFP). You must satisfy the conditions for OFP. Check with your school early in your pregnancy to see if you could benefit from the Home Tuition Scheme while you are pregnant. See www.education.ie
If you have already left school
If you have already left school and want to go back to finish secondary school, VEC or college then you can switch from OFP to the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) if you have been on OFP for 3 months or more. In the case of third level courses, you may only transfer to the BTEA if you have been in receipt of OFP for at least 9 months. BTEA will allow you to keep your Medical Card / G.P. Visit Card and Rent Supplement.
To qualify for BTEA you must be either over 18 and two years out of education or over 21.
If you are over 21 and getting OFP for 6 months then you could apply for a Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS).
There are no fees. Books are free and there is a small travel allowance. Some childcare money is also available. There are many courses on offer and you could do your Junior or Leaving Certificate. See www.qualifax.ie
There might be a Youthreach near you. You can get basic and specific skills training, practical work experience and some general education. See www.youthreach.ie.
See www.solas.ie (formally FÁS) for details of training courses.
Childcare
The biggest obstacle to going back to school or college is organising and paying for childcare for your child. Some colleges have childcare attached and others can give you an allowance for childcare. Check locally to see what is available or contact your local childcare committee. See www.dcya.ie and search ‘childcare’ to see what is available and for contact details of your local Childcare Committee.
For further information see:
Habitual residence is a condition you must satisfy in order to qualify for certain social welfare payments.
These payments include:
Habitual residence means you have proven close links to Ireland or other parts of the Common Travel Area: Ireland, Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The most important factors for providing this link are:
EU Regulations and Habitual Residence
EU/EEA citizens and Swiss nationals who are employed or self- employed in Ireland and subject to the Irish Social Insurance system, do not have to satisfy the Habitual Residence Condition to qualify for Family Benefits. The following Irish social welfare payments are classified as Family Benefits under EU Regulations:
For further information search ‘habitual residence condition’ on www.welfare.ie
Download our Information Pack for Unmarried Parents here
Click HERE for changes to welfare payments 2019
Download our Information Leaflet on Maintenance of Children HERE
Treoir 2019
While every effort has been made to ensure the information provided in this webpage is accurate, no responsibility can be accepted by Treoir for any error or omission.
