Social Welfare Act 2003

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Number 41 of 2003

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT 2003

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

SCHEDULE A

SCHEDULE B

Number 41 of 2003

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT 2003

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, THE HEALTH CONTRIBUTIONS ACT 1979 AND THE NATIONAL TRAINING FUND ACT 2000.

[19th December, 2003]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Definitions.

1.— In this Act—

“Act of 1996” means the Social Welfare Act 1996 ;

“Act of 1997” means the Social Welfare Act 1997 ;

“Act of 2002” means the Social Welfare Act 2002 ;

“Principal Act” means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 .

Social insurance benefits (new rates).

2.—(1) The Principal Act is amended in the Second Schedule by substituting the Parts set out in Schedule A to this Act for Parts I to IV (inserted by section 2(1) of the Act of 2002) of the said Second Schedule.

(2) This section comes into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment benefit, on 25 December 2003,

(b) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, health and safety benefit, injury benefit and disablement gratuity, on 29 December 2003,

(c) in so far as it relates to carer's benefit, retirement pension, invalidity pension and a relevant payment by virtue of section 18(1)(a) of the Act of 1996, on 1 January 2004, and

(d) in so far as it relates to disablement pension, death benefit under section 60, 61 or 62 of the Principal Act, old age (contributory) pension, widow's and widower's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance, on 2 January 2004.

Social assistance payments (new rates).

3.—(1) The Principal Act is amended in the Fourth Schedule by substituting the Parts set out in Schedule B to this Act for Parts I, II, IIA, IIB and IIC (inserted by section 3(1) of the Act of 2002) of the said Fourth Schedule.

(2) This section comes into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance, pre-retirement allowance and farm assist, on 24 December 2003,

(b) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on 29 December 2003,

(c) in so far as it relates to disability allowance, on 31 December 2003,

(d) in so far as it relates to one-parent family payment (other than where payable in respect of a widow or widower), carer's allowance and a relevant payment by virtue of section 18(1)(b) or (c) of the Act of 1996, on 1 January 2004, and

(e) in so far as it relates to old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's and widower's (non-contributory) pension, one-parent family payment payable in respect of a widow or widower and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on 2 January 2004.

Family income supplement (new weekly rates).

4.—(1) The Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for section 198 (inserted by section 4(1) of the Act of 2002):

“198.—Subject to this Act, an allowance (in this Act referred to as ‘family income supplement’) shall be payable out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas in respect of a family where the weekly family income is less than—

(a) in the case of a family which includes only 1 child, €407,

(b) in the case of a family which includes 2 children, €433,

(c) in the case of a family which includes 3 children, €458,

(d) in the case of a family which includes 4 children, €483,

(e) in the case of a family which includes 5 children, €515,

(f) in the case of a family which includes 6 children, €541,

(g) in the case of a family which includes 7 children, €562, or

(h) in the case of a family which includes 8 or more children, €584.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2004.

Employment contributions (amendment to earnings ceiling).

5.—(1) Section 10(1) (c) (as amended by section 5(1) of the Act of 2002) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “€42,160” for “€40,420”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2004.

Optional contributions (amendment to income ceiling).

6.—(1) Section 24B(1)(b) (as amended by section 6(1)(b) of the Act of 2002) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “€42,160” for “€40,420”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2004.

Widowed parent grant — amount of grant.

7.—(1) Section 116A(1) (as amended by section 4 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002 ) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “€2,700” for “€2,500”.

(2) This section applies in respect of a person who became a widow or widower on or after 3 December 2003.

Disability benefit and unemployment benefit — amendments to linking provisions.

8.—(1) The Principal Act is amended in sections 31(3)(c), 42(4)(c) and 42(5) (as amended by section 30 of the Act of 1997) by substituting “26” for “13”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 19 January 2004.

Disability benefit, health and safety benefit and unemployment benefit — amendments to conditions for receipt.

9.—(1) Section 32 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)(a) by substituting “52” for “39”, and

(b) by inserting after subsection (2) the following:

“(2A) In the case of any claim for disability benefit where the period of interruption of employment commenced on or after 6 April, 1987 and before 5 April, 2004 subsection (1)(a) shall be construed as if ‘39’ were substituted for ‘52’.”.

(2) Section 41B of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)(a)(ii)(A) by substituting “52” for “39”, and

(b) by inserting after subsection (1) the following:

“(1A) In the case of any claim for health and safety benefit where the period of health and safety leave commenced before 5 April, 2004 subsection (1)(a)(ii)(A) shall be construed as if ‘39’ were substituted for ‘52’.”.

(3) Section 43 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)(a) by substituting “52” for “39”, and

(b) by inserting after subsection (2) the following:

“(2A) In the case of any claim for unemployment benefit where the period of interruption of employment commenced on or after 6 April, 1987 and before 5 April, 2004 subsection (1)(a) shall be construed as if ‘39’ were substituted for ‘52’.”.

(4) This section comes into operation on 5 April 2004.

Increase for qualified child— amendments.

10.—(1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 34 (as amended by section 28 of the Act of 1997) by substituting for subsection (3) the following:

“(3) Subject to subsection (3A), any increase of disability benefit payable pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse of a beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount in any case where the spouse of the beneficiary is not a qualified adult and subsection (2) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(3A) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of disability benefit payable pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse of a beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, calculated or estimated in such manner as may be prescribed, exceeds such amount as may be prescribed.”,

(b) in section 41E (as amended by section 28 of the Act of 1997) by substituting for subsection (3) the following:

“(3) Subject to subsection (3A), any increase of health and safety benefit payable pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse of a beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount in any case where the spouse of the beneficiary is not a qualified adult and subsection (2) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(3A) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of health and safety benefit payable pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse of a beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, calculated or estimated in such manner as may be prescribed, exceeds such amount as may be prescribed.”,

(c) in section 45 (as amended by section 28 of the Act of 1997) by substituting for subsection (3) the following:

“(3) Subject to subsection (3A), any increase of unemployment benefit payable pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse of a beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount in any case where the spouse of the beneficiary is not a qualified adult and subsection (2) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(3A) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of unemployment benefit payable pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse of a beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, calculated or estimated in such manner as may be prescribed, exceeds such amount as may be prescribed.”,

and

(d) in section 55 (as amended by section 28 of the Act of 1997) by substituting for subsections (3) and (4) the following:

“(3) Subject to subsection (4), any increase of injury benefit payable pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse of a beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount in any case where the spouse of the beneficiary is not a qualified adult and subsection (2) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(4) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of injury benefit payable pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse of a beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, calculated or estimated in such manner as may be prescribed, exceeds such amount as may be prescribed.

(5) Subsections (1) and (2) shall, for any period for which the beneficiary is entitled to unemployability supplement, apply to a disablement pension as they apply to injury benefit and any increase pursuant to subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse of a beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount in any case where the spouse of the beneficiary is not a qualified adult and subsection (2) shall be construed and have effect accordingly.”.

(2)  (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to a person who, immediately before the coming into operation of this subsection, is entitled to or in receipt of a payment (in this section referred to as the “specified payment”) to which those paragraphs refer in relation to that payment.

(b) Where, for any period, after the coming into operation of paragraph (a) of this subsection, a person referred to in that paragraph ceases to be entitled to or in receipt of such specified payment, paragraph (a) shall no longer apply to that person.

(3) This section comes into operation on 19 January 2004.

Unemployment benefit — amendment to duration of payment.

11.—(1) Section 46 (as amended by section 13 of the Act of 1997) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) by inserting “or subsection (3A)” after “subsection (3)”,

(b) by substituting for subsection (3) the following:

“(3) Subsection (1) shall, in respect of a person who is over the age of 18 years and who has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 260 contribution weeks, have effect as if ‘390 days’ were substituted for ‘156 days’.

(3A) Subsection (1) shall, in respect of a person who is over the age of 18 years and who has qualifying contributions in respect of less than 260 contribution weeks, have effect as if ‘312 days’ were substituted for ‘156 days’.”,

(c) in subsection (4) by inserting “312 days or” after “unemployment benefit for”, and

(d) in paragraph (b) of subsection (4) by substituting “subsections (1), (3) and (3A) as the case may be,” for “subsections (1) and (3)”.

(2) Where, immediately before the coming into operation of subsection (1), a person was entitled to or in receipt of unemployment benefit for 156 days or more in respect of a period of interruption of employment, the amendments effected in subsection (1) shall not apply to that person for the remainder of the said period of interruption of employment.

(3) This section comes into operation on 19 January 2004.

Supplementary welfare allowance — amendment to conditions of entitlement.

12.—(1) Section 179 (as amended by section 13 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 ) of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (4)—

(a) in paragraph (a)(i) by deleting “or”,

(b) in paragraph (a)(ii)(IV) by substituting “1935, or” for “1935.”,

(c) in paragraph (a), after subparagraph (ii) by inserting the following:

“(iii) during any period that person, or his or her spouse, is engaged in remunerative full-time work.”,

and

(d) by inserting after subsection (4) the following:

“(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) and subject to subsection (6), regulations under subsection (1) may provide for the payment of a supplement towards the amount of mortgage interest payable by a person in respect of his or her residence.

(6) A person shall not be entitled to a supplement referred to in subsection (5), during any period, where that person or his or her spouse, is engaged in remunerative full-time work.”.

(2)  (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to a person who is entitled to or in receipt of any payment to which those paragraphs refer immediately before the coming into operation of this subsection in relation to that payment.

(b) Where after the coming into operation of paragraph (a) of this subsection, a person referred to in that paragraph ceases to be entitled to or in receipt of any payments to which those amendments refer, the said paragraph shall no longer apply to that person.

(3) For the purposes of this section, “spouse” means—

(a) each person of a married couple who are living together, or

(b) a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as husband and wife.

(4) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2004.

Employment contributions — amendment.

13.—The Principal Act is amended in section 10(1)(e) (as inserted by section 17 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 )—

(a) by substituting for the definition of “notional payment” the following:

“ ‘notional payment’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 985A (as inserted by section 6 of the Finance Act 2003 ) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .”,

and

(b) by deleting the definition of “specified provision”.

Amendment of Health Contributions Act 1979.

14.—The Health Contributions Act 1979 is amended in section 6(3) (as inserted by section 20 (b) of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 )—

(a) by substituting for the definition of “notional payment” the following:

“ ‘notional payment’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 985A (as inserted by section 6 of the Finance Act 2003 ) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .”,

and

(b) by deleting the definition of “specified provision”.

Amendment of National Training Fund Act 2000.

15.—The National Training Fund Act 2000 is amended in section 4(13) (as inserted by section 21 (a) of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 )—

(a) by substituting for the definition of “notional payment” the following:

“ ‘notional payment’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 985A (as inserted by section 6 of the Finance Act 2003 ) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 .”,

and

(b) by deleting the definition of “specified provision”.

Short title and construction.

16.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act 2003.

(2) The Social Welfare Acts and this Act, other than sections 14 and 15 , shall be construed together as one.

SCHEDULE A

Section 2. .

“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 3. .

“PART I

Rates of Periodical Social Assistance and Increases Thereof

PART II

Increase of Old Age (Non-Contributory) Pension for One of a Couple and Increase in Blind Pension for One of a Couple Where Both Beneficiary and Spouse have attained Pensionable age

PART IIA

Increase of Blind Pension for One of a Couple Where Both Beneficiary and Spouse have not attained Pensionable Age

PART IIB

Increase of Blind Pension for One of a Couple Where Beneficiary has not attained Pensionable age and Spouse has attained Pensionable Age

PART IIC

Increase of Blind Pension for One of a Couple Where Beneficiary has attained Pensionable Age and Spouse has not attained Pensionable Age