S.I. No. 242/2020 - Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 9) (Absence from the State) Regulations 2020

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 10th July, 2020.

I, HEATHER HUMPHREYS, Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 4 (amended by section 96 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2011 (No. 10 of 2011)) and 249(1)(a) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26 of 2005), hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and construction

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 9) (Absence from the State) Regulations 2020.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 to 2020 shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 to 2020.

Absence from the State

2. Article 217 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 142 of 2007 ) is amended in sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (d) by the substitution of “holiday, in accordance with the Covid-19 General Travel Advisory in operation by the Department of Foreign Affairs,” for “holiday”.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

7 July, 2020.

HEATHER HUMPHREYS,

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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

Section 249 (1)(a) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 provides that Regulations may be made to set out the circumstances in which a person may continue to receive a social welfare benefit while he or she is absent from the State.

Article 217(d) of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 provides that jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed) will continue to be payable where the claimant is absent from the State on holidays for a limited period.

These Regulations provide that, in the context of the grave risk to human life and public health posed by the spread of the disease known as Covid-19, Article 217(d) is being amended so that jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed) will only continue to be payable where the claimant is on holidays in accordance with the General Covid-19 Travel Advisory in operation. At the time of signature travel advice on www.dfa.ie states:

“Avoid non-essential travel until further notice:

The Irish Authorities advise against all non-essential travel overseas until further notice. This includes Great Britain but does not apply to Northern Ireland. It also includes all travel by cruise ship…. The Irish Authorities require anyone coming into Ireland, apart from Northern Ireland, to self-isolate for 14 days. This includes Irish residents”.