MS and self employed

Happy Christmas everyone!

Can someone help me with this pickle?

I have MS. It’s a degenerative disease and doing its thing; degenerating.

I’m self employed. So, you know, no illness benefit etc if I get sick.

However, due to the nature of my disease, I’m not a candidate for a PAYE job - the stress alone worsens my illness, aside from that, I’m not dependably healthy enough to work for someone.

As I age, I’m starting to worry about the precarious position I’m in. If/when I do get sick, I’ll be up shites creek. But I can’t hold down a job.

Is my only option really to try to hold down a job for 6 month, then go on illness benefit then hopefully transition to partial capacity then return to work self employed on reduced hours?

Surely there is some option for me to continue working independently without applying for welfare but without being in the precarious situation of not having the option to apply for illness benefit should the worst happen?

Any ideas?

You could look at Disability Allowance, which is means tested. It doesn't require PRSI contributions.


6 months of working as an employee may not be sufficient to qualify for illness benefit, depending on your PRSI record for previous years.

niamho said:

Happy Christmas everyone!

Can someone help me with this pickle?

I have MS. It’s a degenerative disease and doing its thing; degenerating.

I’m self employed. So, you know, no illness benefit etc if I get sick.

However, due to the nature of my disease, I’m not a candidate for a PAYE job - the stress alone worsens my illness, aside from that, I’m not dependably healthy enough to work for someone.

As I age, I’m starting to worry about the precarious position I’m in. If/when I do get sick, I’ll be up shites creek. But I can’t hold down a job.

Is my only option really to try to hold down a job for 6 month, then go on illness benefit then hopefully transition to partial capacity then return to work self employed on reduced hours?

Surely there is some option for me to continue working independently without applying for welfare but without being in the precarious situation of not having the option to apply for illness benefit should the worst happen?

Any ideas?

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Sorry to hear about your health situation, and the worry it us causing you in terms of your future.

Approx 10 years ago I was diagnosed with a rare disease, also degenerative, and eventually realised its not possible for me to work full-time. I was granted disability allowance approx 5 yrs ago, which gives an automatic medical card and free-travel pass. It also gives Household Benefits package (& free TV license, which i think is kind of funny & insulting in equal measure). I'm currently working part-time, self employed, and the DA weekly payment is reduced in line with my weekly earnings (after USC /pension payments, WFH, business costs etc). I have also worked as PAYE while on DA, albeit in low-pay role 1-3 days pw.

My experience is that I could never meet costs of mortgage / running an old car, & especially medical costs relating to my disease on DA alone, but it does provide additional steady income for which I'm very grateful. I'll also suggest reducing/eliminating debt & contributing to pension to give some feeling of security for the future, very important when we don't know how many years we'll be able to work. DA is definitely worth checking out imo, though again I wasn't a high earner even before my disease struck.

Wishing you well with it, it can be a tough road, but it's good you're now taking the time to look at all your options.