Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1961

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Number 22 of 1961.

SOCIAL WELFARE (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT, 1961.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Number 22 of 1961.

SOCIAL WELFARE (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT, 1961.

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE OLD AGE PENSIONS ACTS, 1908 TO 1960, THE UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE ACTS, 1933 TO 1960, THE WIDOWS' AND ORPHANS' PENSIONS ACTS, 1935 TO 1960, AND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, 1952 TO 1960. [27th July,1961].

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

Interpretation.

1.—In this Act—

“the Act of 1933” means the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933 ;

“the Act of 1935” means the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 ;

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

“the Act of 1960” means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1960 ;

“the Acts” means the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1960;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Social Welfare.

Increase of rates of old age pensions.

2.—The rates of 28s. 6d., 23s. 6d., 18s. 6d., and 13s. 6d. set forth in the Table to subsection (2) of section 77 of the Act of 1952 by virtue of section 2 of the Act of 1960 are each hereby increased by 1s. 6d.

Increase of rates of unemployment assistance.

3.—In the Act of 1933 for the Schedule thereto inserted by section 3 of the Act of 1960, there is hereby substituted the following:

“SCHEDULE.

Rates of Unemployment Assistance.

”

Increase of rates of widows' (non-contributory) pensions.

4.—In Table B to section 20 of the Act of 1935, being the section inserted by section 105 of the Act of 1952, for the rates set forth therein by virtue of section 4 of the Act of 1960 there are hereby substituted the rates set forth in the Table to this section.

TABLE B.

Weekly Rates of Widows' (Non-Contributory) Pensions.

Increase of rates of old age (contributory) pension in cases of adult dependency.

5.—The Third Schedule to the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by the substitution in column (3) of Part I (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960) of “30” for “28½” and, accordingly, in any case where benefit is payable under subsection (3) (inserted by the said Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960) of section 26 of the Act of 1952, the weekly rate thereof shall be thirty shillings.

Amendment of section 10 of Old Age Pensions Aet, 1908.

6.—Section 10 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908, is hereby amended by the deletion in subsection (2) of “and for notice being given by registrars of births and deaths to the pension officers or local pension committees of every death of a person over seventy registered by them,”.

Amendment of section 7 of Old Age Pensions Act, 1911.

7.—The power conferred on the Minister by subsection (3) of section 7 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1911, to deduct from any sums to which a person becomes entitled on account of old age pension under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1960, any sums which the person is liable to repay to the Minister under subsection (2) of section 9 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908, may be exercised notwithstanding that proceedings have been instituted in a court for the recovery of the sums which the person is liable to repay to the Minister as aforesaid or that an order has been made by a court requiring the payment by the person of the sums which he is liable to repay to the Minister as aforesaid, and any costs required by the order aforesaid to be paid to the Minister shall be deemed, for the purposes of the said subsection (3), to be sums which the person is liable to repay to the Minister under the said subsection (2).

Amendment of section 10 of Act of 1933.

8.—(1) Section 10 of the Act of 1933 is herdby amended by the substitution for paragraph (c) (inserted by section 94 of the Act of 1952) of subsection (3) of the following paragraph, namely:

“(c) that his means, calculated in accordance with this Act, do not exceed one hundred pounds per annum;”.

(2) Where—

(a) immediately before the commencement of this Act, a person is the holder of a qualification certificate in a form prescribed by regulations under subsection (1) of section 7 of the Act of 1933, and

(b) the person fulfils the conditions stated in subsection (3) of section 10 of the Act of 1933, as amended by subsection (1) of this section,

the certificate shall have effect, and any determination in relation to the certificate shall be subject to reversal and to revision in the like manner, as if the certificate were in the form prescribed by regulations under subsection (1) of section 7 of the Act of 1933 which are expressed to come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1961.

Amendment of section 17 of Act of 1933.

9.—Section 17 of the Act of 1933 is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (2) of the following paragraphs, namely:

“(a) if he has no means or if he has means not exceeding—

(i) in the case of a person without a dependant, two shillings per week, and

(ii) in the case of a person with one or more dependants, five shillings per week,

at the scheduled rate; and

(b) if he has means exceeding—

(i) in the case of a person without a dependant, two shillings per week, and

(ii) in the case of a person with one or more dependants, five shillings per week,

at a rate equal to the scheduled rate reduced by one shilling per week for every shilling or part of a shilling by which the means of the person exceeds, in the case of a person without a dependant, two shillings per week, and, in the case of a person with one or more dependants, five shillings per week.”

Amendment of section 29 of Act of 1933.

10.—(1) Section 29 of the Act of 1933, is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of“fifty pounds”for “twenty-five pounds”, and

(b) the insertion of the following subsection, namely:

“(2) A person convicted of an offence under this section shall—

(a) if the offence is in relation to the payment or repayment of unemployment assistance, be disqualified for the receipt of unemployment assistance for a period of six months immediately following the date of the conviction, and

(b) if the offence is in relation to a qualification certificate, be disqualified for obtaining or holding a qualification certificate for a period of six months immediately following the date of the conviction.”

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not have effect as respects offences committed before the commencement of this Act.

Amendment of section 29 of Act of 1935.

11.—Section 29 of the Act of 1935 is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (3) of “during any period of two years”for “during the period of two years immediately preceding the date on which the claim therefor is made”.

Amendment of section 57 of Act of 1935.

12.—The power conferred on the Minister by section 57 of the Act of 1935 to deduct from any payments on account of a pension under that Act to which a person becomes entitled any sums payable by the person to the Minister under the section may be exercised notwithstanding that proceedings have been instituted in a court for the recovery of the sums which the person is liable to repay to the Minister as aforesaid or that an order has been made by a court requiring the payment by the person of the sums which he is liable to repay to the Minister as aforesaid, and any costs required by the order aforesaid to be paid to the Minister shall be deemed, for the purposes of the said section 57, to be sums payable by the person to the Minister under the section.

Amendment of section 58 of Act of 1935.

13.—(1) Section 58 of the Act of 1935 is hereby amended by—

(i) the insertion in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) after “material respect” of “or knowingly conceals any material fact”, and

(ii) the insertion in paragraph (b) of that subsection after “entitled” of “or of an amount in excess of the amount to which he is entitled”.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not have effect as respects—

(a) any concealment of fact, or

(b) any obtaining or receiving of pension, referred to in the said section 58, as amended by this section, which occurred before the commencement of this Act.

Amendment of section 8 of Unemployment Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1938.

14.—(1) Section 8 of the Unemployment Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1938 , is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of “fifty founds” for “twenty-five pounds”, and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection, namely:

“(2) A person convicted of an offence under this section shall—

(a) if the offence is in relation to the payment or repayment of unemployment assistance, be disqualified for the receipt of unemployment assistance for a period of six months immediately following the date of the conviction, and

(b) if the offence is in relation to a qualification certificate, be disqualified for obtaining or holding a qualification certificate for a period of six months immediately following the date of the conviction.”

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not have effect as respects offences committed before the commencement of this Act.

Parts of increase of certain pensions not to be reckoned as means for the purposes of the Acts.

15.—Notwithstanding anything contained in the rules in the Seventh Schedule to the Act of 1952, where—

(a) a widow's (non-contributory) pension or an orphan's (non-contributory) pension under the Acts, is in course of payment to or in respect of a person,

(b) a pension (other than the pensions aforesaid) or allowance provided by or under statute or payable out of moneys administered by another government (in this section referred to as the statutory pension) is in course of payment to or in respect of the person, and,

(c) an increase of the statutory pension occurs on or after the 1st day of August, 1961,

then, in calculating the means of the person for the purposes of the Acts, any of the increase of the statutory pension which, if it were reckoned as means, would result in a reduction in the amount of the pension which would be greater than the amount of the increase shall not be reckoned as means.

Amendment of section 42 of Act of 1952.

16.—Section 42 of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion in subsection (1) after paragraph (d) of the following paragraph:

“(dd) as to whether a person is or was employed in an insurable employment,”,

(b) the insertion after “is” in each place where it occurs in subsection (1) of “or was”, and

(c) the insertion after “is not” in subsection (2) of “or was or was not”.

Amendment of section 48 of Act of 1952.

17.—Section 48 of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by the substitution in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) for “other benefit or otherwise”of “any one or more of the following, that is to say, benefit, assistance under the Unemployment Assistance Acts, 1933 to 1960, a pension under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1960, or a widow's (non-contributory) pension under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1960, or otherwise.”.

Amendment of section 52 of Act of 1952.

18.—(1) Section 52 of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (6) of the following subsection:

“(7) A person convicted of an offence referred to in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section in relation to unemployment benefit shall be disqualified for the receipt of unemployment benefit for a period of six months immediately following the date of the conviction.”

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not have effect as respects offences committed before the commencement of this Act.

Amendment of Seventh Schedule to Act of 1952.

19.—The Seventh Schedule to the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by the insertion in subparagraph (c) of paragraph (1) of Rule 3 after “each so determined” of “less, as respects the older member of a married couple consisting of persons each of whom is not less than sixty years of age and neither of whom is wholly or mainly dependent on the means of an individual other than a member of the married couple—

(i) in case the sum of the income (if any) in cash of the married couple of which account is taken under paragraph II of Rule 1 of this Schedule and of the amounts (if any) which were excluded, by virtue of subparagraphs (e), (g) and (h) of the said paragraphII, in the calculation of the said income in cash of the married couple does not exceed £165, the whole of the income in cash of the married couple of which account is taken under the said paragraph II, and

(ii) in any other case, so much of the income in cash of the married couple of which account is taken under the said paragraph II as, when added to the amounts (if any) which were excluded, by virtue of the said subparagraphs (e), (g) and (h), in the calculation of the said income in cash of the married couple, amounts to £165”.

Deduction of certain debts due to the State or the Minister from payments of certain pensions, assistance and benefit.

20.—Where, by reason of the receipt by any person of payments of a pension under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1960, during any period during which that person was not entitled thereto or of an amount or amounts in excess of the amount or amounts which that person was entitled to receive, there is a debt due to the State or the Minister by that person, the Minister may effect recovery of the amount of the debt by deduction from any payments to which the spouse, the widow or the widower, of that person or, if any other person consents to the deduction, the person so consenting, becomes entitled on account of a pension under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1960, assistance under the Unemployment Assistance Acts, 1933 to 1960, a widow's (non-contributory) pension under the Acts, or benefit (other than maternity benefit) under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1960.

Short title, commencement, construction and collective citations.

21.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1961.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1961.

(3) This Act, in so far as it amends and extends the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1960, shall be construed as one therewith and may be cited together therewith as the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1961, and in so far as it amends and extends the Unemployment Assistance Acts, 1933 to 1960, shall be construed as one therewith and may be cited together therewith as the Unemployment Assistance Acts, 1933 to 1961, and in so far as it amends and extends the Acts, shall be construed as one therewith and may be cited together therewith as the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1961, and in so far as it amends and extends the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1960, shall be construed as one therewith and may be cited together therewith as the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1961.