Information
Maternity Benefit is a payment made to women on who are maternity leave from
work and covered by social
insurance (PRSI). You should apply for the payment 6 weeks
before you intend to go on maternity leave (12 weeks if you are
self-employed). The amount of money paid to you each week will depend on your
earnings. If you are already on certain social welfare payments then you will
get half-rate Maternity Benefit. If you think you have been wrongly refused
Maternity Benefit or you are unhappy about a decision of a Social Welfare
Deciding Officer about your entitlements, you can appeal this decision.
Maternity Benefit is paid directly to you on a weekly basis into your bank
or building society account. Some employers will continue to pay an employee,
in full, while she is on maternity leave and require her to have any Maternity
Benefit paid to them. You should check your contract of employment to see what
applies to you. Maternity Benefit is a tax-free payment. Revenue will inform
you how
Maternity Benefit is treated for tax purposes.
Tax and PRSI refunds
You may be entitled to a tax and PRSI refund, if your Maternity Benefit paid
to your employer and your employer continues to pay your normal weekly wage. If
this is the case, when your Maternity Benefit has finished, you can write to
the Maternity Benefit Section or contact
the Maternity Benefit Section online to request an MB21 Statement, which
you should then forward to your tax office to get a
tax refund. To get a PRSI refund, you should complete the Refund of PRSI
Contributions Application Form and send it to the PRSI Refunds Section.
Leave certification
All employees must have their leave certified by their employer. However, if
your contract of employment ends within 16 weeks of your expected date of
confinement and you satisfy the social insurance (PRSI) conditions, Maternity
Benefit is payable from the day after the date on your P45.
Length of time Maternity Benefit is paid
Maternity Benefit is paid for 26 weeks. At least 2 weeks and not more than
16 weeks leave must be taken before the end of the week in which your baby is
due.
You can take a further 16 weeks unpaid maternity
leave. This period is not covered by Maternity Benefit but you will be
entitled to a credited
social insurance contribution for each week of unpaid leave you take (up to
the maximum of 16).
Premature births
If your baby is born prematurely (before your maternity leave is due to
begin), you should send a letter from your doctor to the Maternity Benefit
section of the Department of Social Protection. The letter should confirm the
date the baby was born and that the baby was born prematurely.
Stillbirths and miscarriages
If you have a stillbirth
or miscarriage anytime after the 24th week of pregnancy you are entitled to
26 weeks maternity leave, you are entitled to 26 weeks Maternity Benefit
provided you have satisfied the social insurance (PRSI) requirements.
To apply for Maternity Benefit following a stillbirth, you need to send a
letter from your doctor with the Maternity Benefit application form, confirming
the expected date of birth, the actual date of birth and the number of weeks of
pregnancy.
Hospitalisation of baby
If your baby is in hospital and you have been getting Maternity Benefit for
at least 14 weeks (including at least 4 weeks since your baby was born) you can
postpone payment of your remaining 12 weeks of benefit for up to 6 months. To
postpone payment of your Maternity Benefit you need to apply in writing to the
Maternity Benefit Section in the Department of Social Protection. When your
baby is discharged from hospital you must notify the Maternity Benefit Section
in writing and payment of your remaining 12 weeks Maternity Benefit will
continue within seven days.
How the payment is made
Maternity Benefit is paid directly into your bank or building society
account (a current or deposit account, not a mortgage account) or you can
choose to have it paid directly into your employer's bank account. Payment is
made each week in advance.
Rules
Maternity Benefit is paid by the Department of Social Protection to women
who have a certain number of paid PRSI contributions on their social insurance
record and who are in insurable employment up to the first day of their
maternity leave. The last day of work can be within 16 weeks of the end of the
week your baby is due.
The PRSI contributions can be from employment or self-employment - PRSI
classes that count for Maternity Benefit are A, E, H and S (self-employed).
If you are employed you must have:
- At least 39 weeks PRSI paid in the 12-month period before the first day
of your maternity leave
Or
- At least 39 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work and at
least 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the relevant tax year or in the tax
year immediately following the relevant tax year. For example, if you are
going on maternity leave in 2012, the relevant tax year is 2010 and the
year following that is 2011.
Or
- At least 26 weeks PRSI paid in the relevant tax year and at
least 26 weeks PRSI paid in the tax year immediately before the relevant
tax year. For example, if you are going on maternity leave in 2011, the
relevant tax year is 2010 and the year before that is 2009.
If you do not meet these PRSI conditions and you were self-employed before
starting work as an employee, you can use your Class S contributions to qualify
for Maternity Benefit - see PRSI conditions for self-employed below.
If you are self-employed you must be in insurable employment and
have:
- 52 weeks PRSI contributions paid at Class S in the relevant tax year. For
example, if you are going on maternity leave in 2012, the relevant tax year
is 2010.
Or
- 52 weeks PRSI contributions paid at Class S in the tax year immediately
before the relevant tax year. For example, if you are going on maternity
leave in 2012, the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year is
2009.
Or
- 52 weeks PRSI contributions paid at Class S in the tax year immediately
following the relevant tax year. For example, if you are going on maternity
leave in 2012, the tax year immediately following the relevant tax year is
2011.
PRSI Class S contributions for a particular year are not awarded until you
have paid tax due for that year. Your income tax and PRSI liabilities, for any
year you are self employed, must be paid to qualify for Maternity Benefit.
If you do not meet these PRSI conditions and you were in insurable
employment before becoming self-employed, you can use your PRSI contributions
(Class A, E and H) in that employment to qualify for Maternity Benefit – see
PRSI conditions for employed above.
You may also be required to submit your accounts or a statement from your
accountant for the current year to prove that you are self-employed and liable
to pay a Class S contribution.
Insurance from employment in another country
If you were previously insurably employed in a country covered by EU
Regulations or in a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security
Agreement 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. In this case, you
should send your application for Maternity Benefit 12 weeks before your baby is
due.
More information is available in our document about combining
your social insurance contributions from abroad.
If you are already getting a social welfare payment
Half-rate Maternity Benefit is payable if you are getting any one of the
following payments:
If you are providing full-time care to another person, you may qualify for
half-rate
Carer's Allowance with your Maternity Benefit.
Disqualification from Maternity Benefit
You can do voluntary work, public representative work (for example, a
councillor or TD) and courses of education while you are getting Maternity
Benefit. However, your payment will be stopped if you engage in insurable
(paid) employment.
If you intend to return to employment earlier than you stated on your
application form, you must notify Maternity Benefit Section at least 2
weeks before your new 'return to work date'.
If you are from an EU country, you can get Maternity Benefit for any period
of your maternity leave spent in another EU country. You cannot receive payment
for any period of time spent outside the EU. If you are not an EU citizen you
will only get Maternity Benefit as long as you remain in Ireland.
If you do not apply for Maternity Benefit within 6 months of the birth of
your baby, you may lose benefit.
Rates
How the amount of Maternity Benefit is calculated
If you are employed, your weekly rate of Maternity Benefit is calculated by
dividing your gross income in the relevant tax year by the number of weeks you
actually worked in that year. Eighty percent (80%) of this amount is payable
weekly, subject to a minimum payment and a maximum payment. (The Relevant Tax
Year is the second last complete income tax year before the year in which your
maternity leave starts. The Benefit Year begins on the first Monday of each
year and ends on the Sunday immediately before the first Monday of the
following year.)
If you are self-employed, your weekly rate of Maternity Benefit is
calculated by dividing your gross income in the relevant tax year by 52 weeks -
80% of this amount is payable weekly, subject to a minimum payment and a
maximum payment.
If you are eligible for Maternity Benefit but have no recorded earnings in
the Relevant Tax Year, you will get Maternity Benefit at the minimum amount.
Rates of payment in 2012:
| Maternity Benefit |
Weekly rate |
| Maximum payment |
€262 |
| Minimum payment |
€217.80 |
Payments for dependants
If you have dependants your rate of Maternity
Benefit (excluding increases for dependants) is compared to the rate of Illness
Benefit (including increases for dependants) that would be paid to you if you
were absent from work through illness. The higher of the two rates is paid to
you.
Example (2012 rates): Mary is
entitled to the maximum rate of Maternity Benefit of €262. Her partner is
unemployed and signing on for unemployment
credits. They have two children. If she got Illness Benefit
she would get €372.40 (this is the personal rate of Illness Benefit an
Increase for a Qualified Adult an Increase for Qualified Children). She
cannot get less Maternity Benefit than she would get if ill and getting Illness
Benefit. For this reason, she will get Maternity Benefit of
€372.40.
If your adult dependent is getting a social
welfare payment you will not get an Increase
for a Qualified Adult (IQA) but you may get a half-rate Increase
for a Qualified Child (IQC).
You will qualify for a full-rate IQA and a
full-rate IQC, if your adult dependent is unemployed and signing on for credits
or is earning under €100.01 per week.
If your adult dependent is earning between
€100.01 and €310 per week you will get a tapered rate of IQA and a
full-rate IQC. If your adult dependent is earning between €310.01 and €400
per week you will not get an IQA but you will get half rate IQC. If your adult
dependent earns over €400 per week you will not get an IQA or IQC.
How to apply
To apply fill in a Maternity Benefit
application form (pdf) six weeks before you intend to go on
maternity leave and send it to the Maternity Benefit Section of the Department
of Social Protection.
If you are self-employed, you should apply at least 12 weeks
before you intend to go on maternity leave. This form is also available
by post at the address listed below.