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Attribution of contributions in respect of certain payments made to address the effects of Covid-19
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8. Part 2 of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following Chapter after Chapter 6:
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“Chapter 6A
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Attribution of contributions in respect of certain payments made to address the effects of Covid-19
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Application of Chapter 6A
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38C. (1) This Chapter applies to a person who, on or after 13 March 2020 was—
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(a) entitled to, and in receipt of, a payment made to address the adverse economic effects of Covid-19 made by the Minister under section 202 and commonly known as the pandemic unemployment payment,
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(b) entitled to, and in receipt of, the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment,
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(c) entitled to, and in receipt of, a payment under Chapter 12 or 12A of this Part, but who would otherwise be entitled to a payment referred to in paragraph (a) or (b),
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(d) entitled to, and in receipt of, a payment under Chapter 2 of Part 3, but who would otherwise be entitled to a payment referred to in paragraph (a) or (b),
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(e) an employed contributor whose employer is, or was, in receipt of the temporary wage subsidy, or
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(f) an employed contributor whose employer was, before the coming into operation of Part 7 of the Act of 2020, in receipt of a subsidy in respect of him or her paid to his or her employer under a scheme provided by the Revenue Commissioners on behalf of the Minister and commonly known as the Covid-19 employer refund scheme.
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(2) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, make regulations, having regard to the matters specified in section 38E(5), to provide for the application of this Chapter to a person specified in those regulations.
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Section 13: supplemental provisions for purposes of Chapter
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38D. (1) In any contribution week, where an employed contributor referred to in section 38C(1)(e)—
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(a) is, or was, also a specified employee within the meaning of section 28 of the Act of 2020, or
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(b) was also an employee in receipt of the subsidy referred to in section 38C(1)(f),
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subsection (2) shall, in addition to section 13, also apply to any such employed contributor.
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(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the following shall apply in respect of an employed contributor referred to in that subsection—
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(a) an employment contribution shall not be payable by that employed contributor in respect of reckonable earnings from the employment concerned in any contribution week referred to in subsection (1), and
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(b) an employment contribution shall be payable by the employer of that employed contributor at the rate of 0. 5 per cent of any reckonable earnings paid to that employed contributor which are additional to the temporary wage subsidy.
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Attribution of contributions: certain payments relating to Covid-19
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38E. (1) A person—
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(a) who was an employed contributor in the week immediately before his or her becoming a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) of section 38C(1), and
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(b) to whom section 13 applied in that week,
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shall be deemed to have made an employment contribution in accordance with section 13 in respect of each week in which he or she is, or was, a person referred to in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) of section 38C(1).
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(2) The amount of an employment contribution attributed under this section shall, notwithstanding any other enactment, be of the same amount of the contribution made by the employed contributor referred to in subsection (1) in the week immediately before his or her becoming a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) of section 38C(1).
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(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Minister may, in respect of a person to whom subsection (1) applies, by regulation, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and having regard to the matters specified in subsection (5), prescribe the maximum number of contribution weeks in respect of which employment contributions have been deemed, under subsection (1), to have been made.
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(4) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and having regard to the matters specified in subsection (5), by regulation prescribe the number of self-employment contributions to be attributed to a self-employed contributor and in respect of which such contributions shall be deemed to have been made by the self-employed contributor in respect of any contribution week commencing on or after 13 March 2020.
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(5) When making regulations under this section, the Minister shall have regard to the following:
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(a) the potential impact of Covid-19 on the entitlements of employed contributors and self-employed contributors;
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(b) the manner in which self-employed contributions are paid by self-employed contributors and employment contributions are paid by employed contributors;
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(c) the impact, or potential impact of, Covid-19 and the attribution of any such employment contributions and self-employment contributions on the Social Insurance Fund;
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(d) the policies and objectives of the Government to protect the health and welfare of members of the public;
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(e) the need to ensure the most beneficial, effective and efficient use of resources.
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Exchange of information in relation to Chapter
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38F. Notwithstanding section 261 or any other enactment in relation to the confidentiality of information relating to employers and insured persons or other persons entitled to benefits or assistance under this Act, information relevant to the payment of the temporary wage subsidy or the payment referred to in section 38C(1)(f) insofar as it relates to the effective operation of this Chapter, may be exchanged between the Minister and the Revenue Commissioners.”.
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