Sharda Sobhy loses Supreme Court maternity benefit appeal

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Sharda Sobhy’s maternity benefit appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court in a judgment delivered on 16 December 2021. The court reinstated the Chief Appeals Officer’s decision, which had refused her application.

The court held that PRSI contributions paid during work without a work permit could not be counted towards maternity benefit because the employment was not a qualifying contract of service. Sobhy had argued that the legislation did not expressly exclude such contributions and that PRSI had been paid.

The proceedings concerned work undertaken without a permit or immigration permission between 26 June 2012 and 3 March 2019. The case summary records that the High Court decision was made on 10 March 2021, before the Supreme Court judgment.