Explainer: What supports are available to self-employed people? 

Q: What supports are available if I am self-employed and become unemployed?

If you find yourself unemployed or you are getting less work than before, you may qualify for a Jobseeker’s Payment. You do not need to de-register as self-employed to get a payment. However, you must meet the conditions that apply to jobseeker’s payments.

Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed) (JBSE) is a weekly payment from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) to those who lose their self-employment. To qualify, you need at least 156 weeks of Class S contributions or at least 104 weeks of paid Class A or H PRSI since first starting work, and 52 weeks of Class S contributions paid in the relevant tax year.

The relevant tax year is the second-last complete tax year before the year in which your claim is made. So, for claims made in 2025, the relevant tax year is 2023.

To get Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed) you must stop all self-employment activity. However, you can work as an employee for up to three days each week and continue to get Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed).

If you don’t qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed), you may qualify for Jobseeker’s Allowance. However, this is means tested. Farmers with low incomes may apply for Farm Assist.

Q. How does Jobseeker’s Allowance work for self-employed people?

A. If you are self-employed, you may be entitled to Jobseeker’s Allowance depending on your earnings from your business. You do not need to close your business or stop working as self-employed for you to get it, and don’t have to be unemployed for at least four out of seven days, as for Jobseeker’s Benefit.

You will get Jobseeker’s Allowance if your income is below a certain level.

Earnings from your business are assessed in the means test for it. The assessment must reflect the income you may reasonably be expected to get from your business over the next 12 months. Income for the last 12 months will be taken as a guide, but allowing for any factors which it is known will vary. You should be prepared to discuss these factors when you are assessed for Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Earnings are assessed as gross income less work-related expenses over 12 months. Your expected annual earnings from self-employment is divided by 52 to find your weekly means from self-employment. Any ‘drawings’ you take from the business is not an allowable expense.

There is no exhaustive list of all business expenses allowed because expenses vary with the nature and extent of the self-employment. Your local Citizens Information Centre (CIC) will provide you with information on allowable expenses.

To prove the level of income from your business you must give your receipts and payments (documentation showing money coming in and out of your business) or audited accounts to the person dealing with your application in your Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office.

All income, including earning of your spouse/partner and any savings, investments or capital you have will also be assessed. Your local CIC will explain the means test process.

Q. Are there any additional benefits available to self-employed people in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance or Farm Assist?

There are some extra supports which may be available. If you are getting Farm Assist or in receipt of JA more than 312 days, depending on your circumstances you may qualify for the Fuel Allowance - a payment to help with the cost of heating your home in the winter

If your income is below a certain amount you may get a medical card or a GP visit card.

Depending on circumstances, you may get help with the cost of uniforms and footwear for schoolchildren. The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme operates from June 1 to September 30 each year.

There is also the Additional Needs Payment to help with unexpected costs

Contact your local CIC to check your eligibility for any of these schemes

Q. What support is available if someone has to stop working due to illness?

A. Self-employed people with Class S PRSI contribution are not eligible for illness benefit, which is for people with short-term illness. But they are eligible for Invalidity Pension, a weekly payment to people who cannot work due to a long-term illness or disability and who are covered by social insurance (PRSI).

To meet the medical rules, you must have been incapable of work for at least 12 months and be likely to be incapable of work for at least another 12 months, or be permanently incapable of work (in certain cases of very serious illness or disability, you can transfer directly from another social welfare payment or from your job to Invalidity Pension).

Self-employed people can also apply for the means tested Disability Allowance if they have a long term condition, which is preventing them from working.

Q. Can self-employed people access the Treatment Benefit Scheme?

A. Yes, the scheme is available to self-employed people who have the required number of PRSI contributions. It provides a limited financial contribution towards dental, optical and aural services. It entitles you to a free eyesight test every two years. However, sight tests for VDUs and driving licences are not covered by the scheme. You can get a set payment every two years, towards either a pair each of reading and distance spectacles, a pair of bifocal or varifocals or a pair of contact lenses (including disposables). Cost will vary depending on the frames you choose. Basic frames are free.

Under this scheme, the DSP pays the full cost of an oral examination once a calendar year with your dentist. A payment of €42 towards either a scale and polish or - if clinically necessary - periodontal treatment, is also available once a calendar year. If the cost of either cleaning or periodontal treatment is more than €42, you must pay the balance - capped at €15 for a scale and polish. There is no cap on the periodontal treatment balance.

If you need contact lenses for medical reasons, you can get up to €1,000 towards the cost of a pair of medical contact lenses (€500 for each contact lens) every two years. This applies to a small number of eye conditions that make wearing glasses impossible. You must have a doctor’s recommendation.

Hearing aids may be provided by suppliers who have a contract with the DSP. The DSP pays the full cost of an aid up to a maximum of €500 (€1,000 for a pair) once every four years. It also pays the full cost of repairs to aids, up to a maximum of €100, once every four years.

Q. Does a self-employed person have entitlement to any other Social Welfare payments?

A self-employed person usually pays Class S PRSI. These Class S contributions cover you for a limited number of payments including Maternity benefit, Adoptive benefit, Paternity benefit, Bereaved Partner contributory pension and State Pension Contributory