• Illness Benefit may very likely apply to you if you are diagnosed with narcolepsy, at the very least for a period of time during and after the diagnostic period.

• Illness Benefit may also apply to you if you are the parent of a child who has been diagnosed with narcolepsy. Clearly you must not make any unreasonable or dishonest claims, but equally you must not neglect the likely very real tremendous stress that this situation will cause you. You must let your doctor decide on the appropriate way for you to cope with this. If your doctor decides that you must take time off work for your own health’s sake then you should abide by that decision and inform your employer and put an illness benefit claim in motion.

• You may get Illness Benefit from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) if you cannot work because you are sick or ill. You must be aged under 66, covered by the appropriate class of social insurance (PRSI) and satisfy the PRSI conditions.

• Illness Benefit is paid for a maximum of 2 years subject to your satisfying various conditions.

• How do you apply?

You can get an Illness Benefit claim form (IB1) and a “Certificate of Incapacity for Work” from your doctor (GP). You fill out the IB1 claim form and your doctor completes the “Certificate of Incapacity for Work” . Completed claim forms should be sent by Freepost to: Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, P.O. Box 1650, Dublin 1.

• Payment rates
  Illness Benefit rates are graduated according to your average weekly earnings in the relevant tax year. Average weekly earnings are calculated by dividing the total reckonable gross earnings (without deductions) in the relevant* tax year by the actual number of weeks worked in that year.
  
  For example, if a person is claiming for sickness benefit in 2020 and their average weekly earnings for the weeks worked in 2018 was €300 or more, then they are entitled to a personal illness benefit of €203 per week and may also qualify for an increase in their payment for an adult dependant or child dependant under certain conditions. Lower rates are paid where average weekly earnings were less.

• Illness benefit is treated as taxable income .

• COVID-19 absences

  Temporary Illness Benefits apply for COVID-19 absences. For details follow this link gov.ie

For comprehensive treatment on Illness Benefit see Citizens Information and /or DEASP.

• Further Details:

• You may get Illness Benefit from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) if you cannot work because you are sick or ill. You must be aged under 66, covered by the appropriate class of social insurance (PRSI) and satisfy the PRSI conditions.

• You should apply for Illness Benefit within 6 weeks of becoming ill. If you don't apply within this time you may lose some of your payment.

• Illness Benefit is paid for a maximum of:

  • 2 years (624 payment days) if you have at least 260 weeks of reckonable social insurance contributions paid since you first started work
    or

  • 1 year (312 payment days) if you have between 104 and 259 weeks of reckonable social insurance contributions paid since you first started work

• What happens when your entitlement period to illness benefit runs out?

  • If you are ill, likely to be permanently incapable of work and satisfy the PRSI conditions, you may qualify for Invalidity Pension.

  • If you do not qualify for Invalidity Pension and you have a disability that is expected to last for a year or more, you may qualify for a means-tested Disability Allowance.

• Your Illness Benefit claim will be reviewed from time to time and you may be asked to attend for a medical assessment. This assessment will be carried out by a Medical Assessor, who is a doctor employed by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. The Medical Assessor will give an opinion on whether or not you are fit for work.

• You can get an increase in your payment for an adult dependant or child dependant if you meet certain conditions.

• If you are getting Domiciliary Care Allowance and/or the Carer's Support Grant you may still qualify for illness benefit.

• If you are getting Illness Benefit and you satisfy the conditions for Carer's Allowance, you may get half the personal rate of Carer's Allowance along with your Illness Benefit payment.

• It may also be possible for you to receive an Increase for a Qualified Adult for someone on your Illness Benefit claim while they receive a half-rate Carer's Allowance for caring for you or someone else.

• If you are getting Disablement Benefit, you may also get Illness Benefit if you are ill, unable to work and satisfy the PRSI conditions (provided that the Disablement Benefit payment does not include an increase for Incapacity Supplement).

• If you have been getting Illness Benefit (for a minimum of 6 months) or Invalidity Pension and wish to return to work, you may qualify for Partial Capacity Benefit if your capacity for work is reduced by your medical condition.

• To qualify for payment of Illness Benefit you must satisfy the following two conditions:

  • (1) You must have at least 104 weeks of PRSI contributions paid since you first started work

    and either

  • (2) 39 weeks of PRSI contributions paid or credited in the relevant* tax year, of which 13 must be paid contributions**. If you do not have 13 paid contributions in the relevant tax year, then 13 paid contributions in one of the following tax years can be used instead:

  • Either of the two tax years before the relevant tax year.

  • The last complete tax year (before the year in which your claim for Illness Benefit begins)

  • The current tax year

    Or

  • 26 weeks of PRSI contributions paid in the relevant tax year, and 26 weeks of PRSI contributions paid in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year.

How do you apply?

• Claims for Illness Benefit are normally made on form IB1 (application form for Illness Benefit and Injury Benefit) and accompanying ‘Certificate of Incapacity for Work' which are available from your doctor

• a ‘Certificate of Incapacity for Work’ can be provided in paper form (purple coloured certificate) or, in some practices, this can be completed and submitted online by the doctor. Where the doctor has completed an ‘Online Certificate of Incapacity for Work’, the doctor will provide the customer with a receipt for your own/employer’s records

• You must get a doctor to examine you. You may have to pay for this exam, but you can get the 'Certificate of Incapacity for Work’ for free as the department pays for it.

• Completed claim forms (IB1) and Certificate of incapacity for Work should be sent by Freepost to: Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, P.O. Box 1650, Dublin 1.

Payment rates
Usually no payment is made for the first 6 days of illness and no payment is made for any Sunday during your illness.

Illness Benefit rates are graduated according to your average weekly earnings in the relevant tax year. Average weekly earnings are calculated by dividing the total reckonable gross earnings (without deductions) in the relevant* tax year by the actual number of weeks worked in that year.

For example, if a person is claiming for sickness benefit in 2020 and their average weekly earnings for the weeks worked in 2018 was €300 or more, then they are entitled to a personal illness benefit of €203 per week and may also qualify for an increase in their payment for an adult adult dependant or child dependant  under certain conditions. Lower rates are paid where average weekly earnings were less.

Taxation issues:

Illness Benefit, both the personal rate and Increase for a Qualified Adult, (excluding increases for child dependants) is considered to be income for tax purposes and it is taxable from the first day of payment.

• Illness Benefit is paid directly to you without any deduction of income tax. It is taxed by reducing your tax credits and rate band. Whether you are employed or unemployed, Revenue will take account of the amount of Illness Benefit paid to you when they adjust your tax credits or review the tax affairs of your spouse or civil partner.

* The relevant tax year is the second-last complete tax year before the year in which your claim for Illness Benefit begins. For example: If your claim begins in 2020 the relevant tax year is 2018

** A paid contribution is a PRSI contribution paid by you when you are working. A credited PRSI contribution is one credited to you in certain circumstances while in receipt of  benefits such as Illness Benefit, Disability Allowance and in many other situations. For comprehensive details on Credited PRSI contributions see Citizen’s Information.

For comprehensive treatment on Illness Benefit see Citizens Information and /or Dept of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.