Self-Employment

If you are getting certain social welfare payments and you want to become self-employed, you may be eligible for the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, or the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance. It is important to note that if you are self-employed and in receipt of Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment (JST) then the weekly income disregard of €165 will not apply to you and your earnings from self-employment will be assessed in full. The earnings disregard for JST only applies to income from employment, not self-employment.

If you have an idea for a business or you have a skill or competency that could lead to being self-employed then there are some social welfare supports that provide an initial income whilst developing your business. There are also other supports available to help self-employed people.