S.I. No. 323/2003 - Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 3) (Compensation Payments) Regulations, 2003

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by sections 4 (as amended by section 12 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002 (No. 8 of 2002)) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 (No. 27 of 1993) and Rule 1 (2) (w) (inserted by section 24 of the Social Welfare Act, 2001 (No. 5 of 2001)) of Part I, Rule 1(4) (x (inserted by section 24 of the Social Welfare Act, 2001 ) of Part II and Rule 1(3) (u) (inserted by section 24 of the Social Welfare Act, 2001 ) of Part IV of the Third Schedule to the said Act hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and construction.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 3) (Compensation Payments) Regulations, 2003.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations 1994 to 2003 shall be construed together as one and may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations 1994 to 2003.

Compensation payments.

2. The Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 417 of 1994 )) are amended by -

(a) the deletion in article 90A (inserted by article 5 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions (Amendment) (No. 6) Regulations, 1996 (S.I. 297 of 1996)) of sub-article (3).

(b) the substitution for article 90B (as amended by article 5 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 7 (Unemployment Assistance, Pre-Retirement Allowance and Farm Assist) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 324 of 1999)) of the following:

“90B. The income prescribed for the purposes of Rule 1(2) (w) of Part I, Rule 1(4) (x) of Part II and Rule 1(3) (u) of Part IV of the Third Schedule to the Principal Act shall be the yearly value of all income derived from compensation awarded -

(a) by the Compensation Tribunal established by the Minister for Health on 15 December, 1995, the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal established under section 3 of the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal Act, 1997 (No. 34 of 1997), the Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation Tribunal established under section 2 of the Hepatitis C Compensation Tribunal (Amendment) Act, 2002 (No. 21 of 2002), or by a court of competent jurisdiction, to compensate certain persons who have contracted Hepatitis C or Human Immunoglobulin Virus within the State from the use of Human Immunoglobulin - Anti-D whole blood or other blood products or

(b) to persons who have disabilities caused by Thalidomide.”.

	GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs this 22nd day of July 2003.
	MARY COUGHLAN
	Minister for Social and Family Affairs.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

	GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this 16th day of July, 2003.
	CHARLIE MC CREEVY
	Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

Regulations currently provide that any moneys received by way of compensation awarded to persons who have contracted Hepatitis C and to persons who have disabilities caused by Thalidomide will be disregarded in the assessment of means for social assistance purposes.

These Regulations replace the existing provisions to extend this disregard to include any moneys received by way of compensation awarded by the Hepatitis C and HIV Tribunal or by a Court of competent jurisdiction, to persons who have contracted HIV through contaminated blood products.