S.I. No. 568/2012 - Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 2) (Rent and Mortgage Supplement) Regulations 2012.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 1st January, 2013.

I, JOAN BURTON, Minister for Social Protection, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 4 (adapted by the Social and Family Affairs (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2010 ( S.I. No. 186 of 2010 )), and by section 198 of that Act, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and construction.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 2) (Rent and Mortgage Supplement) Regulations 2012.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 2007 to 2012 shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 2007 to 2012.

Interpretation.

2. In these Regulations “Principal Regulations” means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 412 of 2007 ).

Entitlement to rent supplement.

3. Article 9(2) (amended by article 6 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 1) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2012 ( S.I. No. 478 of 2012 )) of the Principal Regulations is amended by inserting the following paragraph before paragraph (e):

“(c) he or she has made application, on being so required by the designated person, to a housing authority for a social housing assessment within the meaning of section 20 of the Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2009,”.

Entitlement to mortgage supplement.

4. Article 10(1) of the Principal Regulations is amended by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (b) (amended by article 6 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance (Amendment) (No. 3) (Administrative Responsibility for Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 2011 ( S.I. No. 514 of 2011 )):

“(b) A supplement towards the amount of mortgage interest payable by a person referred to in paragraph (a) may be payable where the loan agreement was entered into at a time when, in the opinion of a designated person, the claimant was in a position to meet the repayments thereunder.”.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform consents to the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

21 December 2012.

BRENDAN HOWLIN,

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

21 December 2012.

JOAN BURTON,

Minister for Social Protection.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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

These Regulations amend the conditions applying to the Rent and Mortgage Interest Supplement schemes payable under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme by—

(a) providing that it is a requirement for an applicant for the rent supplement to apply to a housing authority for a social housing assessment, on being required to do so by a designated officer, and

(b) removing the condition applying to the mortgage interest supplement scheme which provides that the supplement will be discontinued where the property is offered for sale.