1. What is Maternity Benefit?

2. How do I qualify?

3. What PRSI contributions do I need for Maternity Benefit?

4. Can I use social insurance contributions from another country to help me qualify for Maternity Benefit?

5. How do you work out my payment?

6. How do I get my payment?

7. Can I get my Maternity Benefit if I go to a country outside the state?

8. How long does my payment last?

9. What happens if my baby is premature?

10. What happens if my baby is stillborn?

11. What happens to my social insurance record if I take unpaid maternity leave?

12. Can I work while getting Maternity Benefit?

13. Can I postpone maternity leave and Maternity Benefit?

14. What is parental leave?

15. When and how do I apply?

16. Where can I get more information?

Application for maternity leave credits

Qualifying conditions for Social Welfare schemes change from time to time. Always check with your local Social Welfare Office or with Information Services to see if qualifying conditions have changed (see Section 16 for contact details).

The information in this booklet is correct at the time of going to print.

1. What is Maternity Benefit?

Maternity Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed people who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions on their own social insurance record. Maternity Benefit is not taken into account for tax purposes.

2. How do I qualify?

To qualify for Maternity Benefit as an employee you must:

• be in insurable employment that is covered by the Maternity Protection Act, 1994 immediately before the first day of maternity leave.
  The last day of insurable employment may be within 16 weeks of the end of the week your baby is due. If you cease employment your maternity leave must start from the following day,
  and
• satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions.

To qualify for Maternity Benefit as a self-employed person you must:

• be in insurable self-employment,
  and
• satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions.

3. What PRSI contributions do I need for Maternity Benefit?

Employees

To qualify for Maternity Benefit, you must satisfy one of the following PRSI contribution conditions. You must have:

• at least 39 paid PRSI* contributions in the 12-month period before the first day of your maternity leave,
  or
• at least 39 paid PRSI* contributions since first starting work and at least 39 paid or credited PRSI* contributions in the relevant tax year, or in the year following the relevant tax year,
  or
• at least 26 paid PRSI* contributions in the relevant tax year and at least 26 paid PRSI* contributions in the tax year before the relevant tax year.

* Only PRSI at Classes A, E and H count.

Previous employment

If you were in insurable self-employment, before starting insurable employment as an employee, your Class S PRSI contributions may help you qualify for Maternity Benefit, if you do not satisfy the employee conditions outlined above.

You may use contributions in the tax year before and after the relevant tax year (see note below) to help you satisfy the PRSI contribution conditions. However, the amount of Maternity Benefit you may get depends only on your earnings in the relevant tax year.

Self-employed

To qualify for Maternity Benefit, you must satisfy one of the following PRSI contribution conditions. You must have:

• 52 paid PRSI* contributions in the relevant tax year,
  or
• 52 paid PRSI* contributions in the tax year before the relevant tax year,
  or
• 52 paid PRSI* contributions in the tax year following the relevant tax year.

* Only PRSI at Classes A, E, H and S count.

Note
Self-employment contributions, PRSI Class S, are not awarded until you have paid your total tax for the relevant tax year in full.

Previous employment

If you were in insurable employment before starting self-employment your PRSI contributions (Classes A, E, and H) may help you qualify for Maternity Benefit if you do not satisfy the self-employment conditions.

Note

The relevant tax year is the second last complete tax year before the benefit year in which your maternity leave starts.

The benefit year begins each year on the first Monday in January and ends on the Sunday immediately before the first Monday in January the following year.

4. Can I use social insurance contributions from another country to help me qualify for Maternity Benefit?

If you were previously insurably employed in a country covered by EC Regulations or in a country which Ireland has a Bilateral Agreement with and you have paid at least one full rate PRSI contribution in Ireland, you may combine your insurance record in that country with your Irish PRSI contributions to help you qualify for Maternity Benefit. The countries covered by EC Regulations or under a Bilateral Agreement for Maternity Benefit purposes are:

If you were working in one of the countries listed above in the relevant tax year, please submit your application form 12 weeks before your due date to give us time to get your insurance record from the appropriate country.

5. How do you work out my payment?

We work out your weekly rate of Maternity Benefit by dividing your gross income in the relevant tax year by the number of weeks you actually worked in that year.

You may get 80% of this amount, subject to a minimum payment of €221.80 and a maximum payment of €280.00 a week. These rates are from 31st December 2007.

Note
If you are eligible for Benefit but have no recorded earnings in the relevant tax year, you will receive payment at the minimum amount.

Self-employed

We work out your weekly rate of Maternity Benefit by dividing your reckonable income in the relevant tax year by 52.

You may get 80% of this amount, subject to a minimum payment of €230.30 and a maximum payment of €280.00 a week. These rates are from 29th December 2008.

Note
If you are eligible for Benefit but have no recorded earnings in the relevant tax year, you will receive payment at the minimum amount.

Employees and self-employed

We compare the rate of Maternity Benefit to the rate of Disability Benefit that you would get if you were absent from work through illness. We will check this for you and you will get the higher of the two automatically.

Reduced rates

You may get half-rate Maternity Benefit if you are getting any of the following payments:

• One-Parent Family Payment
• Widow's Contributory Pension
• Widow's Non-Contributory Pension
• Deserted Wife's Benefit
• Prisoners Wife's Allowance
• Deserted Wife's Allowance, or
• Death Benefit by way of Widow's, Widower's or Dependent Parent(s) Pension (under the Occupational Injuries Scheme).

Maternity Benefit (full rate or half-rate) is not paid if you are getting Guardian’s Payment (Contributory) or Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory).

Half-rate Carer’s Allowance

If you are providing full-time care to another person, you may also qualify for a half-rate Carer’s Allowance along with a standard rate Maternity Benefit. See information booklet SW41 for more details.

6. How do I get my payment?

You can get Maternity Benefit by direct payment every week into a current or deposit savings account (not a mortgage account) with a bank or building society.

Note
You can choose to have your Maternity Benefit paid directly into your employer's bank account. If you wish this to happen, sign the authorisation in Part 2 of the application form: (MB 10)

7. Can I get my Maternity Benefit paid if I go to a country outside the State?

If you are from an EU country, you can get Maternity Benefit for any period of your maternity leave spent in another EU country.

8. How long does my payment last?

You may get Maternity Benefit for a continuous period of 26weeks whether or not you return to work following your maternity leave. To qualify for the maximum 26 weeks Maternity Benefit, you must take at least 2 weeks and at most 16 weeks leave before the end of the week in which your baby is due. If you fail to take the minimum 2 weeks leave, you may lose out on some benefit.

9. What happens if my baby is premature?

If your baby is born prematurely (before your maternity leave is due to start), please send a letter to Maternity Benefit Section from your doctor confirming that your baby was born prematurely and on what date.

10. What happens if my baby is stillborn?

If your baby is stillborn after the 24th week of pregnancy, you can still get 26 weeks Maternity Benefit as long as you satisfy the PRSI conditions. You should send us a letter from your doctor with your Maternity Benefit application form confirming expected due date, the actual date of birth and the number of weeks gestation.

11. What happens to my social insurance record if I take unpaid maternity leave?

If you are in insurable employment, an employment contribution may be credited to you for each week that you take unpaid maternity leave under the terms of the Maternity Protection Act, 1994. This makes sure that your cover for social welfare benefits is kept up to date.

This PRSI credit may be given for each week if you have:

• taken unpaid maternity leave and not received Maternity Benefit for a maximum of 26 weeks, or
• taken unpaid additional maternity leave up to a maximum of 16 weeks. Additional unpaid maternity leave must start immediately after your maternity leave or paid Maternity Benefit otherwise you will not be entitled to credits for your unpaid leave.

If you take unpaid leave, please have your employer complete the application for maternity leave credits , after you return to work.

Send the completed application to:

Maternity Benefit Section
Social Welfare Services Office
St Oliver Plunkett Road
Letterkenny
Co. Donegal.

12. Can I work while getting Maternity Benefit?

Voluntary work, public representative work (e.g. Councillor or TD), and courses of education are allowed while you are in receipt of Maternity Benefit. However, you may not engage in insurable (i.e. paid) employment and your Benefit payment will be stopped if you do so.

If you intend to return to work earlier than you had stated on your application form, tell Maternity Benefit Section at least 2 weeks before your new 'return-to-work date'.

13. Can I postpone maternity leave and Maternity Benefit?

You may postpone the last 12 weeks of your maternity leave and Maternity Benefit if your child is in hospital. Your Maternity Benefit must have been in payment for at least 14 weeks and you must have taken at least 4 weeks maternity leave after your baby was born.

You should apply in writing to the address above if you want to have your Maternity Benefit postponed. You can postpone your Maternity Benefit for up to 6 months. Your payment will resume when you send in written confirmation to Maternity Benefit Section that your child has been discharged from hospital and your employer certifies that you are entitled to resume postponed maternity leave.

Your payment will continue until your entitlement to Maternity Benefit finishes.

14.What is parental leave?

The Parental Leave Act, 1998, allows fathers and mothers to take unpaid leave to look after young children. You may take parental leave either as a single block of 14 weeks or, with your employer's agreement, as smaller blocks, broken up over a period of time.

The Act also allows limited paid leave ('force majeure' leave), of up to 3 days in any 12 months, or up to 5 days in any 36 months, to let you deal with emergencies resulting from a family member's injury or illness.

Parents who take parental leave may get a PRSI credit for each week taken. This makes sure that cover for social welfare benefits is kept up-to-date. Your employer should write to the Records Update Section (address below) confirming the number of weeks and exact dates of your parental leave.

For further information on PRSI Credits for parental leave, contact:

Records Update Section,
Department of Social and Family Affairs,
Gandon House,
Amiens Street,
Dublin 1.
Tel: (01) 704 3000

For more informationn on parental leave, contact:

The Equality Authority,
Clonmel Street,
Dublin 2.
Tel: LoCall 1890 245 545 (from the Republic of Ireland only) or Dublin (01) 417 3333
Website: www.equality.ie

15. When and how do I apply?

You should apply for Maternity Benefit 6 weeks (12 weeks if self-employed) before you intend to start your maternity leave.

In certain cases, you may apply after your baby is born. But if you fail to apply within 6 months of the birth of your baby, you may lose benefit.

To apply, complete the enclosed application form (MB 10) and send it to:

Maternity Benefit Section
Social Welfare Services Office
St Oliver Plunkett Road
Letterkenny
Co. Donegal.
Telephone: LoCall 1890 690 690 (from the Republic of Ireland only).

16. Where can I get more information?

For more information on Maternity Benefit, contact your local Social Welfare Office or Maternity Benefit Section at the address above.

You can get information on social welfare services, or get information booklets and application forms:

• on the Internet at www.welfare.ie,
  
  or
  
  
• from your local Social Welfare Office (see State Directory section of your phone book or the Golden Pages for contact numbers),
  
  or
  
  
• by telephoning the Department’s LoCall Leaflet Request Line at 1890 20 23 25 (from the Republic of Ireland only),
  
  or
  
  
• by telephoning Information Services at LoCall 1890 66 22 44 (from the Republic of Ireland only) or + 353 71 91 93313 (from Northern Ireland or overseas).

You can get extra information about parental leave and your rights under the Maternity Protection Act, Parental Leave Act and Adoptive Leave Act from:

The Equality Authority
Clonmel Street
Dublin 2

Telphone: LoCall 1890 245 545 (from the Republic of Ireland only) or +353 1 417 3333 (from Northern Ireland or overseas)

Website: www.equality.ie

You can get information about employment rights and responsibilities from:

The Dept of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
23 Kildare Street
Dublin 2

Telphone: LoCall 1890 220 222 (from the Republic of Ireland only) or +353 1 631 2121 (from Northern Ireland or overseas)

Website: www.entemp.ie

Note
The rates charged for the use of 1890 (LoCall) numbers may vary among different service providers.

Application for Maternity Leave Credits

Please download, print, and complete the Application Form for Maternity Leave Credits.

The form is a 13KB PDF file, so the freely available Adobe Acrobat Reader is required.

Click here for Download the Application for Maternity Leave Credits Form