Social Welfare Act, 1986

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Number 8 of 1986

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1986

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

SCHEDULE A

SCHEDULE B

SCHEDULE C

SCHEDULE D

Number 8 of 1986

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1986

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, 1981 TO 1985. [27th March, 1986]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

“the Act of 1984” means the Social Welfare Act, 1984 ;

“the Act of 1985” means the Social Welfare Act, 1985 ;

“the No. 2 Act of 1985” means the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1985 ;

“the Principal Act” means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 .

Social insurance benefits (new rates).

2.— (1) (a) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I to V (inserted by the Act of 1985) of the Second Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule A to this Act.

(b) This subsection shall come into operation—

(i) in so far as it relates to unemployment benefit, on the 15th day of May, 1986,

(ii) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, maternity allowance, injury benefit, disablement gratuity and disablement pension, on the 19th day of May, 1986,

(iii) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's benefit, invalidity pension and retirement pension, on the 22nd day of May, 1986, and

(iv) in so far as it relates to death benefit under section 50, 51 or 52 of the Principal Act, old age (contributory) pension, widow's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance, on the 23rd day of May, 1986.

(2) (a) The Principal Act is hereby further amended by the substitution for Parts I to V (inserted by subsection (1) (a) of this section of this Act) of the Second Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule B to this Act.

(b) This subsection shall come into operation—

(i) in so far as it relates to unemployment benefit, on the 10th day of July, 1986,

(ii) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, maternity allowance, injury benefit, disablement gratuity and disablement pension, on the 14th day of July, 1986,

(iii) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's benefit, invalidity pension and retirement pension, on the 17th day of July, 1986, and

(iv) in so far as it relates to death benefit under section 50, 51 or 52 of the Principal Act, old age (contributory) pension, widow's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance, on the 18th day of July, 1986.

Social assistance payments (new rates).

3.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I and III (inserted by the Act of 1985) of the Fourth Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule C to this Act.

(2) This section shall come into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance, on the 9th day of July, 1986,

(b) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance, social assistance allowance and single woman's allowance, on the 17th day of July, 1986,

(c) in so far as it relates to old age pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on the 18th day of July, 1986, and

(d) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on the 14th day of July, 1986.

Family income supplement.

4.—(1) Section 232B (inserted by the Act of 1984) of the Principal Act (which relates to the entitlement to family income supplement) is hereby amended by the substitution for “£18” (inserted by the Act of 1985) of “£20”.

(2) Section 232C (inserted by the Act of 1984) of the Principal Act (which relates to the weekly rate of family income supplement) is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in subsection (1) for “25 per cent.” of “one-third”,

(b) the substitution in subsection (2) (a) for “£8” of “£10”,

(c) the substitution in subsection (2) (b) for “£8” of “£10”, and for “£2.50” (inserted by the Act of 1985) of “£4”, and

(d) the substitution for subsections (3) and (4) of the following subsection:

“(3) In calculating the weekly rate pursuant to subsection (1), any fraction of £1 shall be treated as £1.”.

(3) This section shall come into operation on the 10th day of April, 1986.

Amendment of section 73 of Principal Act (pay-related benefit).

5.—(1) Section 73 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for “£49” (inserted by the Act of 1985) of “£58”.

(2) This section shall have effect in relation to any period of interruption of employment commencing on or after the 7th day of April, 1986.

Pay-related social insurance contributions (increase in earnings ceiling).

6.—(1) Section 10 (1) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (c) (inserted by the Act of 1985) of the following paragraph:

“(c) Where in a particular contribution year an employed contributor's reckonable earnings have amounted to the sum of £14,700 and contributions under paragraph (b) have been paid in respect of those reckonable earnings, no further such contribution shall be payable in respect of any reckonable earnings of that employed contributor in that contribution year.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1986.

Amendment of section 65 of Principal Act (employment contributions).

7.—(1) Section 65 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsections (2) (a) (ii) and (2) (b) for “0.4 per cent.” (inserted by the Act of 1984) of “0.43 per cent.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1986.

Exemption from payment of contributions etc.

8.—Any employer who, during the period commencing on the 23rd day of October, 1985, and ending on the 31st day of March, 1986, employed, under and by virtue of the scheme administered by the Department of Social Welfare and known as the Employers' Pay-Related Social Insurance Exemption Scheme, additional employees shall not, during the period commencing on the 6th day of April, 1986, and ending on the 5th day of April, 1987, be liable to pay in respect of additional employees who constitute a net increase in the employer's workforce under the scheme all or any of the following, namely—

(a) the contribution specified in section 10 (1) (b) (ii) (as amended by the Social Welfare Act, 1982 ) of the Principal Act;

(b) the employment contribution specified in subsection (2) (a) (ii), and the increase specified in subsection (2) (b), of section 65 (as amended by this Act) of the Principal Act;

(c) the health contribution payable by an employer under section 5 (1) (b) of the Health Contributions Act, 1979 ;

(d) the youth employment levy payable under section 16 (c) of the Youth Employment Agency Act, 1981 ; or

(e) the employers' redundancy contribution payable under section 28 (inserted by section 3 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1979 , and extended by section 2 of the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984 ) of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 .

Disqualifications for disability benefit, injury benefit or disablement benefit.

9.—(1) Section 23 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) for “6 weeks” of “9 weeks”.

(2) Section 61 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) for “6 weeks” of “9 weeks”.

Amendment of section 18 of Principal Act (title to benefit).

10.—Section 18 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (4) (e) of the following paragraph:

“(f) a day shall not be treated in relation to an insured person as a day of incapacity for work if, in respect of that day, the insured person is being paid by his employer in respect of holiday leave.”.

Weekly rate of maternity allowance.

11.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for section 26A (1) (inserted by the No. 2 Act of 1985) of the following subsection:

“(1) Subject to subsection (2), the weekly rate of maternity allowance as specified in column (2) of Part I of the Second Schedule shall be increased by the appropriate amount set out in column (4), (4a), (5) or (5a) of Part I of the Second Schedule in respect of each qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary.”, and

(b) the insertion after section 26A of the following section:

“Weekly rate of maternity allowance.

26B. (1) The weekly rate of maternity allowance payable to a woman entitled to maternity allowance under section 24 (2) (a) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ) shall be an amount equal to—

(a) the amount (as increased under section 26A) payable under section 26, or

(b) the amount payable under this section,

whichever is the greater.

(2) The amount of maternity allowance payable under this section shall be an amount equal to—

(a) 70 per cent. of the reckonable weekly earnings of the woman to whom the allowance is payable in the income tax year prescribed for the purposes of this section, or

(b) 70 per cent. of such amount as may be prescribed as the average reckonable weekly earnings of women in that year,

whichever is the greater.

(3) The percentage specified in subsection (2) may be varied by regulations having regard to such matters as—

(a) movements in the annual average earnings of women, and

(b) the imposition or variation of statutory deductions from or charges on earnings.

(4) In this section ‘reckonable weekly earnings’ has the meaning specified in section 71.”.

(2) Section 3 (4) (a) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the deletion of “75 (2),” (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ), and

(b) the insertion after “19 (4),” of “26B,”.

(3) Section 75 (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ) of the Principal Act is hereby repealed.

(4) Section 72 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution in subsection (1) (a) (inserted by the Social Welfare Act, 1983 ) for “maternity allowance” of “maternity allowance payable under section 24 (2) (b)”, and

(b) by the substitution in subsection (2) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ) for “maternity allowance” in each place where those words appear, of “maternity allowance under section 24 (2) (b)”.

(5) Section 74 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (2) (inserted by the Social Welfare Act, 1983 ) of the following subsection:

“(3) For the purposes of this section, any day in respect of which a person is entitled to maternity allowance under section 24 (2) (a) shall be deemed to be a day of incapacity for work in respect of which the person was entitled to pay-related benefit and any day in respect of which a person is entitled to maternity allowance under section 24 (2) (b) shall be treated as a day of incapacity for work.”.

Amendment of section 39 of Principal Act (extension of meaning of references to accidents arising out of and in the course of employment).

12.—Section 39 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (4) of the following subsection:

“(4) An accident happening to an insured person while travelling to or from his place of work shall, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, be deemed for the purposes of this Part to arise out of and in the course of his employment.”.

Amendment of section 42 of Principal Act (injury benefit).

13.—Section 42 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion in subsection (1) for “12 days” of “4 days”, and

(b) the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1A) For the purposes of this section, a day shall not be treated in relation to an insured person as a day of incapacity for work if, in respect of that day, the insured person is being paid by his employer in respect of holiday leave.”.

Amendment of section 48 of Principal Act (adjustments for successive accidents).

14.—Section 48 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) (b) for “12 days”, in each place where those words occur, of “4 days”.

Amendment of section 114 of Principal Act (inspectors).

15.—Section 114 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in subsection (4) (i) for “£500” of “£1,000”, and

(b) the substitution in subsection (4) (ii) for “£2,000” of “£3,000”.

Amendment of section 143A of Principal Act (appointment and duties of social welfare officers).

16.—Section 143A (inserted by the Act of 1985) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (7) of the following subsection:

“(7) The premises or places liable to inspection under this section are any premises or places where a social welfare officer has reasonable grounds for believing that—

(a) persons are, or have been, employed, or

(b) there are, or have been, self-employed persons,

and any premises or place where a social welfare officer has reasonable grounds for believing that any documents relating to persons in employment or to self-employed persons are kept.”.

Child Benefit.

17.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in the title to Part IV thereof for “CHILDREN'S ALLOWANCES” of “CHILD BENEFIT”,

(b) the substitution in each of the sections specified in Schedule D to this Act for “children's allowances”, in each place where those words appear, of “child benefit”,

(c) the substitution in sections 224 (4), 224 (5), 225 (2), 232 (1) (c), 300 (6) and 304 for “allowance”, in each place where that word appears, of “benefit”,

(d) the substitution in section 231 (4) (b) for “an allowance” and “such allowance” of “a benefit” and “such benefit”, respectively,

(e) the substitution in sections 225 (1), 225 (2) and 225 (5) for “monthly allowance” of “monthly benefit”, and

(f) the substitution for Part IV (inserted by the Act of 1984) of the Fourth Schedule thereto of the following Part:—

“PART IV

Amounts of Child Benefit

”

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of April, 1986.

Financing of health board expenditure.

18.—(1) Section 134 (2) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the deletion of “, except supplementary welfare allowance,”.

(2) Section 218 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for subsection (9) (inserted by the Social Welfare Act, 1983 ) of the following subsection:

“(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section—

(a) the total amount to be paid under subsection (1) by all local authorities referred to in that subsection in respect of each of the years ending on 31st December, 1981, 31st December, 1982, 31st December, 1983, 31st December, 1984 and 31st December, 1985, and in respect of no other year, shall be such amount as may be prescribed for each such year by the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, and the proportion of those amounts payable by each, such local authority in respect of each such year shall be that which the total expenditure on home assistance in the year ending 31st December, 1975, bears to the total expenditure by all local authorities refered to in subsection (1) on home assistance in that year;

(b) the amount payable under subsection (3) by a local authority referred to in that subsection in respect of each of the years ending on 31st December, 1982, 31st December, 1983, 31st December, 1984 and 31st December, 1985, and in respect of no other year shall not exceed such amount as may be prescribed for that year by the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment and with the consent of the Minister for Finance.”, and

(b) the insertion after subsection (9) (inserted by this section) of the following subsection:

“(10) The Minister shall, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, make grants to health boards to defray all expenditure (including the costs of administration) of those boards on supplementary welfare allowance in the year ending on 31st December, 1986, and in each year thereafter, and, accordingly, so much of the preceding subsections of this section, other than subsection (9), as refer to the financing of health board expenditure on supplementary welfare allowance shall, on and after the commencement of the Social Welfare Act, 1986, cease to have effect.”.

Amendment of section 29 of Principal Act.

19.—Section 29 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for subsection (4) (a) of the following paragraph:

“(a) a day shall not be treated in relation to an insured person as a day of unemployment unless on that day he is capable of work and is, or is deemed in accordance with regulations to be, available for employment, and is genuinely seeking, but is unable to find, employment suitable for him having regard to his age, sex, physique, education, normal occupation, place of residence and family circumstances,”, and

(b) the insertion after subsection (4) of the following subsection:

“(4A) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (4), any period, not exceeding one year in duration, of—

(a) employment under a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as the Social Employment Scheme, or

(b) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, or

(c) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as the Alternance Scheme, or

(d) attendance at a training course provided or approved of by An Chomhairle Oiliúna, or

(e) employment under a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as Teamwork,

shall be disregarded in treating, pursuant to subsection (4) (c), any two periods of interruption of employment not separated by more than 13 weeks as one period of interruption of employment.”.

Evidential effect of certificate in prosecutions.

20.—For the purposes of the institution of proceedings under Part II, Part III Chapter 2, Part III Chapter 3, Part III Chapter 4 or Part IV of the Principal Act, a certificate certifying the following facts, namely, that a person is an officer of the Minister and that he has been authorised under a special or general direction of the Minister to institute such proceedings, or that the Minister has consented to the institution of such proceedings, shall be sufficient evidence in any legal proceedings of the matters certified in the certificate, until the contrary is shown, and sections 116, 145, 168, 188 and 231 of the Principal Act shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

Amendment of section 43 of Principal Act (disablement benefit).

21.—(1) Section 43 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for subsection (7) (b) (inserted by the No. 2 Act of 1985) of the following paragraph:

“(b) The scale prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (a) shall be the same for all persons.”,

(b) the substitution for subsection (8) (inserted by the No. 2 Act of 1985) of the following subsection:

“(8) Where the extent of the disablement is assessed for the period taken into account as amounting to 20 per cent. or more, disablement benefit shall be a pension (in this Chapter referred to as a disablement pension) for that period at the weekly rate set out in column (2) of Part III of the Second Schedule appropriate to the degree of disablement: Provided that where the period is limited by reference to a definite date, the pension shall cease on the death of the beneficiary before that date.”, and

(c) the substitution for subsection (9) (b) (i) (inserted by the No. 2 Act of 1985) of the following paragraph:

“(i) the scale shall be the same for all persons,”.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall come into operation on the 19th day of May, 1986.

Restriction of provisions requiring laying of draft regulations before Houses of Oireachtas.

22.—Where the Minister revokes regulations made under section 5 (4), 5 (5), 10 (2), 12, 19 (3), 25 (2), 30 (3), 79 (6), 84 (2), 89 (3), 93 (3), 97 (2), 101 (3) or 108 (3) of the Principal Act and makes regulations which he certifies to be substantially to the like effect as the regulations so revoked, a requirement that a draft of the proposed regulations be laid before each House of the Oireachtas shall not apply.

Repeals.

23.—Section 43(10) (which relates to appeals against provisional assessment of the extent of disablement), section 47 (which relates to increase of disablement benefit during approved hospital treatment), section 56 (which relates to the limitation of benefits by pre-accident earnings) of the Principal Act and section 2 (which relates to the increase of social insurance rates) of, and the Second Schedule (which relates to rates of benefit) to, the No. 2 Act of 1985, are hereby repealed.

Short title, construction and collective citation.

24.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act, 1986.

(2) The Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1985, and this Act shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1986.

SCHEDULE A

Section 2 .

“Second Schedule

Rates of Benefits

PART I

Rates of Periodical Benefits and Increases Thereof

PART II

Occupational Injuries Benefits—Gratuities and Grant

PART III

Disablement Pension

PART IV

Increases of Disablement Pension

”

SCHEDULE B

Section 2.

“Second Schedule

Rates of Benefits

PART I

Rates of Periodical Benefits and Increases Thereof

PART II

Occupational Injuries Benefits—Gratuities and Grant

PART III

Disablement Pension

PART IV

Increases of Disablement Pension

”

SCHEDULE C

Section 3.

“Fourth Schedule

Rates of Assistance

PART I

Rates of Periodical Social Assistance and Increases Thereof

PART III

Increase of Old Age Pension for a Spouse

”

SCHEDULE D

Amendments of Principal Act

Section 17.