'selfunemployed'

soontobesmokin

I have been selfemployed for the last 3 years ( construction ) which I may add were a fairly good 3 years , up until about 4 months ago when quickly times changed , work dried up , and now I'm looking at a very bleak year ahead indeed.
All remaining money from the business will last for about another 6 weeks and then I have the prospect of possibly paying Hanvoer street in Cork a visit ( dole ), the first time in may years.
My question comes in 2 parts ,
1) Am I immediatley intitled to a payment ( wife, 3 kids, 13, 3 and 3 months, wife not working ) and
2) Can I still stay self employed and draw the dole,if I am earning very small money from the business ? if so how do these payments work and so often.

mikemac

Were you paying PRSI while employed?
Did you pay any tax at all?

Reason I'm asking is if you've made enough contributions then yes, you are entitled.
And if were "cash in hand" then things get difficult

Edit: You actually owned your own business, is that correct? I assumed you were an employee even though self-employed

soontobesmokin

Yes , all my tax affairs are up to date , just received a tax clearance cert a few days back. Also I have made all the relevant rsi contributions, no worries there.
It is correct I was ( and still am ) self employed, at one stage employing up to half a dozen lads, but had to let them go too. My main concern is if for the first couple of years my earnings were seen as 'high' and now want to sign on, are they going to give me a hard time as in , ' where is the money gone'?
Previous to being selfemployed I was employed by someone else in the same trade for a number of years.

SarahMc

If you were paying Class S contributions, you will not be entitled to jobseekers benefit, but rather to jobseekers allowance, which is means tested. This link explains about the allowance.

soontobesmokin

Thanks for that link Sarahmc, it certainly gives me more options and the possibility to keep things running albeit quite at the moment.

Mrs. MacGyver

You can still be self-employed and on Jobseeker's Allowance, they will be able to explain how the means assessment works (they are very approachable in Cork!)