Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966

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Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Acts” means the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1966;

“apprentice” means a person undergoing full-time training for any trade, business, profession, office, employment or vocation;

“approved hospital treatment” has the meaning specified in subsection (2) of section 33;

“child qualified for the purposes of this Act” means a person who—

(a) is under the age of eighteen,

(b) is ordinarily resident in the State,

(c) is not detained in a reformatory or an industrial school, and

(d) if not under the age of sixteen—

(i) is undergoing full-time instruction in a day school,

(ii) is an apprentice either not remunerated or at a rate of remuneration not exceeding fifty shillings per week, or

(iii) is, by reason of physical or mental infirmity, incapable of engaging in any remunerative occupation and likely to remain so incapable for a prolonged period;

“claimant” means a person claiming occupational injuries benefit, and also includes an applicant for a declaration that an accident was or was not an occupational accident, and reference to a claim shall be construed accordingly;

“the deceased” means, in relation to death benefit, the person in respect of whose death the benefit is claimed or payable;

“disablement gratuity” has the meaning specified in subsection (7) of section 9;

“disablement pension” has the meaning specified in subsection (8) or subsection (9) of section 9;

“injury benefit period” means, in relation to any accident, the period of one hundred and fifty-six days (Sundays being disregarded) beginning with the day of the accident, or the part of that period for which, under subsection (2) of section 9 of this Act, disablement benefit in respect of the accident is not available to the insured person;

“insurable (occupational injuries) employment” has the meaning specified in section 3;

“medical examination” includes bacteriological and radiographical tests and similar investigations, and references to being medically examined shall be construed accordingly;

“medical treatment” has the meaning specified in subsection (1) of section 33;

“occupational accident” has the meaning specified in section 29;

“occupational injuries insurance” has the meaning specified in subsection (2) of section 2;

“orphan qualified for the purposes of this Act” means—

(a) a child qualified for the purposes of this Act, being a legitimate child, both of whose parents are dead and who, where he has a stepparent, does not normally reside with the stepparent or a person married to and living with the stepparent, or

(b) a child qualified for the purposes of this Act, being an illegitimate child, whose mother is dead and whose father is dead or unknown and who, if there is a surviving husband of his mother, does not normally reside with that husband or a woman married to and living with that husband;

“the Principal Act” means the Social Welfare Act, 1952 ;

“relevant accident” and “relevant injury” mean respectively, in relation to any benefit, the accident and injury in respect of which the benefit is claimed or payable; and “relevant loss of faculty” means the loss of faculty resulting from the relevant injury;

“unemployability supplement” has the meaning specified in subsection (3) of section 12;

“the Workmen's Compensation Acts” means the Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1934 to 1955, or the enactments repealed by the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1934 , or the enactments repealed by the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906.

(2) References in this Act to loss of physical faculty shall be construed as including references to disfigurement, whether or not accompanied by any actual loss of faculty.

(3) References in this Act to any enactment shall, save where the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to that Act as amended by any subsequent enactment including this Act.

(4) In this Act “the appointed day” means such day as the Minister may by order appoint and different days may be appointed for different purposes of this Act or for the same purpose in relation to different cases or classes of case.

(5) Any question relating to the normal residence of a child qualified for the purposes of this Act shall, for the purposes of this Act, be decided in accordance with subsection (2) of section 5 of the Children's Allowances (Amendment) Act, 1946 , and the rules under that subsection.

(6) Where a child qualified for the purposes of this Act has been or becomes adopted pursuant to the Adoption Acts, 1952 and 1964, then for the purposes of this Act—

(a) the child shall be treated as if he were the child of the adopter or adopters born to him, her or them in lawful wedlock and were not the child of any other person and, if he was an orphan qualified for the purposes of this Act immediately before the adoption, as having ceased to be such an orphan, and

(b) if there is one adopter only, in any application after the adoption with respect to the child of the definition of “orphan qualified for the purposes of this Act” contained in subsection (1) of this section, “the parent of whom is dead” shall be substituted in paragraph (a) of that definition for “both of whose parents are dead”.

(7) Section 3 (other than subsection (4) thereof) of the Principal Act shall be construed and have effect as if—

(a) references therein to a power to make regulations included references to any power to make regulations under this Act, and

(b) references therein to regulations included references to any regulations under this Act.

(8) (a) The definition of “increase” contained in subsection (1) of section 2 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after “or section 27”of “of this Act or under section 10, section 11, section 12, section 13, section 14 or section 19 of the Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966”.

(b) Subsection (2) of section 31 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after “such person,” of “or an increase under section 10 of the Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966, in respect of such husband or wife,”.