Injury Benefit is made up of a personal rate for yourself and may include increases for your qualified adult and qualified child(ren).
Who is a qualified adult?
If you are married, or if you are living with someone as husband and wife and you are supporting them, you may get an increase for them as a qualified adult.
If your spouse’s or partner’s gross weekly income or earnings is €100 or less, you will receive a full increase for them.
You will not get an increase for your spouse or partner if they:
- have a gross weekly earnings or income of more than €300 before deductions such as PRSI or tax, €310 from January 2009.
or
- are getting a social welfare payment in their own right (except Disablement Benefit*, Child Benefit or Supplementary Welfare Allowance),
* You cannot get an increase for them if they are getting Incapacity Supplement with their Disablement Benefit,
or
- are disqualified from getting a Jobseeker’s Allowance because of a trade dispute,
or
- are taking part in a full-time FÁS non-craft training course.
If you are single, widowed or separated, and your children are living with you, you can claim an increase for a person aged 16 or over who is caring for them, if you are supporting that person.
Note
Your spouse’s or partner’s income or earnings includes earnings from employment, selfemployment, occupational pensions and other sources, such as property, savings, capital and investments.
How we assess your spouse’s or partner’s property, savings, capital and investments
When working out their means from investments and savings we add together the following items and use a special formula to work out their means:
- the cash value of investments and property (except the home),
- money in a savings account, or any other kind of bank account,
and
- cash-in-hand.
The following formula is used:
| Capital |
Weekly Means Assesses |
| First €20,000 |
Nil |
| €20,000 - €30,000 |
€1 per €1,000 |
| €30,000 - €40,000 |
€2 per €1,000 |
| Over €40,000 |
€4 per €1,000 |
When property is held jointly (for example by a couple), half the value of the asset is taken as belonging to each person.
Who is a qualified child?
A qualified child is a child under 18 years of age who normally lives with you and is being supported by you. Sometimes a child who is not living with you can also be your qualified child if you are supporting them.
A child who is aged 18 and over and being maintained byyou is also considered a qualified child:
- for the 3 month period after they leave second level education,
or
- for the 3 month period after they finish the Leaving Certificate,
or
- up to the end of the academic year in which they reach 18, as long as they are attending a full-time course of study by day at a school, college or university.
If you are getting Injury Benefit or a combination of certain other short-term payments for more than 156 days, you may be paid a Qualified Child Increase for a child in full-time education up to the age of 22 or up to the end of the academic year in which they reach 22.
You will not get the Qualified Child Increase if the child gets:
- a social welfare payment in their own right (except Disablement Benefit). If the child gets Incapacity Supplement with the Disablement Benefit you will not be paid an increase for them,
or
- Infectious Diseases Maintenance Allowance (IDMA) from the Health Service Executive.
What rate of Qualified Child Increase can I get?
You will get the full Qualified Child Increase if you:
- qualify for an increase either full or reduced, for your spouse or partner,
or
- are a lone parent and not getting:
- One-Parent Family Payment,
- Deserted Wife’s Benefit, or
- Widow’s or Widower’s (Contributory) Pension.
You will get half the Qualified Child Increase if:
- your spouse has earnings between €300 (€310 from Janurary 2009) and €400 per week,
or
- your spouse or partner is getting a social welfare payment in their own right. In this case, your spouse or partner will get half the Qualified Child Increase with their payment and you will get half the Qualified Child Increase with your Injury Benefit.
You will not get a Qualified Child Increase if your spouse or partner has income or earnings of more than €400 a week.