Social Welfare (Supplementary Welfare Allowances) Act, 1975

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Financing of health board expenditure.

20.—(1) Every local authority which, immediately before the appointed day, was a public assistance authority shall pay to the health board in whose functional area the functional area of the local authority is included—

(a) in respect of the period commencing on the appointed day and ending on the last day of the year in which such appointed day occurs, a sum representing—

(i) that proportion of the total expenditure by such local authority on home assistance in the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1975, which that period bears to the year in which such appointed day occurs, and

(ii) a proportion of forty per cent. of the amount by which the total expenditure by all health boards on supplementary welfare allowance in the said period exceeds that proportion of the total expenditure by all local authorities on home assistance in the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1975, which that period bears to the year in which such appointed day occurs,

the said proportion of forty per cent. payable by such authority being that which the total expenditure on home assistance by that authority in the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1975, bears to the total expenditure by all local authorities on such assistance in that year, and

(b) in respect of each year following the year in which the appointed day occurs, a sum representing—

(i) the total expenditure by such local authority on home assistance in the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1975, and

(ii) a proportion of forty per cent. of the amount by which the total expenditure by all health boards on supplementary welfare allowance in the year for which payment is due exceeds the total expenditure by all local authorities on home assistance in the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1975,

the said proportion of forty per cent. payable by such authority being that which the total expenditure on home assistance by that authority in the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1975, bears to the total expenditure by all local authorities on such assistance in that year.

(2) In determining the amount of expenditure on home assistance and supplementary welfare allowance for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the costs of administration shall be excluded.

(3) The expenditure of a health board on the administration of supplementary welfare allowance shall be paid by the local authorities which, immediately before the appointed day were public assistance authorities having their functional areas in the functional area of the health board.

(4) The provisions of section 32 of the Health Act, 1970 , which relate to the agreement or, in the absence of agreement, the determination of the manner of the sharing of contributions between local authorities shall with any necessary modifications apply to payments under subsection (3) of this section in like manner as they apply to contributions under that section.

(5) The Minister may by regulations prescribe the manner in which and the times at which payments shall be made by local authorities to health boards under subsection (1) of this section and, where appropriate, any such regulations may provide for interim payments calculated in accordance with estimates furnished by a health board pursuant to section 19 of this Act.

(6) (a) Where any sum is due and payable under this Act to a health board by a local authority, the amount of that sum may be deducted from any money payable to that local authority from funds provided by the Oireachtas for any purpose whatsoever.

(b) Every amount deducted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be paid to the health board concerned and shall be credited in the accounts of that health board as a payment by the local authority concerned of the sum in respect of which the amount was so deducted.

(7) References to supplementary welfare allowance in this section shall be construed as including reference to the cost of burials pursuant to section 18 of this Act.

(8) The Minister shall, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, make grants to health boards to defray so much of their expenditure on supplementary welfare allowance as is not met by income under this section.