European Communities (Social Welfare) Regulations, 1992.

• Date: 18 June 1992
• Statutory Instrument No.: 152/1992

S.I. No. 152 of 1992.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SOCIAL WELFARE) REGULATIONS, 1992.
I CHARLES McCREEVY, Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), hereby make the following Regulations:
PART IGENERAL
	1 Citation.	1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Social Welfare) Regulations, 1992.
	2 Interpretation.	2. In these Regulations—
"the Principal Act" has the meaning assigned to it by article 3 (2) of these Regulations;
"assistance" means any of the payments specified in section 134 (1) of the Principal Act;
"benefit" means any benefit specified in section 17 (1) of the Principal Act;
"the Minister" means the Minister for Social Welfare;
"relevant period" means the period commencing on the 23rd day of December, 1984 and ending on—
( a ) the 16th day of November, 1986 in the case of a claim of disability benefit or injury benefit,
( b ) the 18th day of November, 1986 in the case of a claim for unemployment assistance,
( c ) the 19th day of November, 1986 in the case of a claim for retirement pension, invalidity pension or unemployment benefit,
( d ) the 20th day of November, 1986 in the case of a claim for old age (contributory) pension, old age pension; blind pension or disablement benefit;
"relevant person" means a person who was or who, by virtue of these Regulations, becomes entitled to a specified payment in respect of the relevant period;
"specified payment" means any of the following payments, including any increase in such payment—
( a ) disability benefit,
( b ) unemployment benefit,
( c ) injury benefit,
( d ) disablement benefit,
( e ) old age (contributory) pension,
( f ) retirement pension,
( g ) invalidity pension,
( h ) unemployment assistance,
( i ) old age pension, or
( j ) blind pension.
PART II APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS
	3 Application of regulations.	3. (1) These Regulations shall apply for the purposes of determining or reviewing the entitlement of a relevant person to a specified payment in respect of the relevant period or any part thereof and for no other purpose.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, the "Principal Act" means the provisions of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 (No. 1 of 1981), as amended by—
( a ) the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 (No. 3 of 1981),
( b ) the Social Welfare Act, 1982 (No. 2 of 1982),
( c ) the Social Welfare Act, 1983 (No. 6 of 1983),
( d ) the Social Welfare Act, 1984 (No. 5 of 1984), or
( e ) the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1984 (No. 27 of 1984).
(3) The entitlement of a relevant person shall be determined or reviewed under—
( a ) these Regulations, and
( b ) the Principal Act (and regulations thereunder) as amended by—
(i) the Social Welfare Act, 1985 (No. 5 of 1985),
(ii) the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1985 (No. 14 of 1985), or
(iii) the Social Welfare Act, 1986 (No. 8 of 1986),
as affected by these Regulations and in force during the period in respect of which the claim is made.
(4) The Principal Act or regulations made thereunder as affected by these Regulations shall have effect for determining or reviewing entitlement in the relevant period only.
PART III HOUSEHOLD SUPPLEMENT
	4 Household supplement.	4. (1) Subject to these Regulations, an increase in a specified payment by way of a household supplement shall be payable to a relevant person in any of the circumstances specified in sub-article (2) of this article and the amount of the household supplement payable shall be determined in accordance with article 5 of these Regulations.
(2) The following circumstances are hereby specified for the purposes of sub-article (1) of this article—
( a ) where the spouse of a relevant person (other than a relevant person who is entitled to or in receipt of an old age pension or a blind pension), being wholly or mainly maintained by that person does not have weekly income, calculated or estimated in accordance with sub-article (4) of this article, in access of £50 from employment, self-employment or otherwise, and is not entitled to, or in receipt of, any benefit or assistance (other than maternity allowance, disablement benefit under section 43 of the Principal Act, death benefit under section 52 of the Principal Act, orphan's (contributory) allowance, orphan's (non-contributory) pension or supplementary welfare allowance) or disabled person's maintenance allowance under section 69 of the Health Act, 1970 ,
( b ) where a person who is—
(i) over the age of 16 years,
(ii) being wholly or mainly maintained by a relevant person (other than a relevant person who is entitled to or in receipt of an old age pension or a blind pension), and
(iii) not entitled to or in receipt of any benefit or assistance is his own right,
has the care of one or more than one qualified child who normally resides with the relevant person and that relevant person is—
(I) a single person, or
(II) a widow or widower, or
(III) a married person who is not living with and is neither wholly or mainly maintaining, nor being wholly or mainly maintained by such married person's spouse,
( c ) where the spouse of a relevant person (other than a relevant person who is entitled to or in receipt of an old age pension or a blind pension) has weekly income, calculated or estimated in accordance with sub-article (4) of this article, in excess of £50 from employment, self-employment or otherwise,
( d ) subject to paragraphs (e) and (f) of this sub-article, where the spouse of a relevant person (other than a relevant person who is entitled to or in receipt of old age pension or blind pension) is entitled to, or in receipt of, any benefit or assistance (other than maternity allowance, disablement benefit under section 43 of the Principal Act, death benefit under section 52 of the Principal Act, orphan's (contributory) allowance, old age pension, blind pension, orphan's (non-contributory) pension or supplementary welfare allowance) or disabled person's maintenance allowance under section 69 of the Health Act, 1970 ,
( e ) subject to paragraph (g) of this sub-article, in the case of a couple both of whom are relevant persons, where either spouse is entitled to or in receipt of unemployment assistance,
( f ) where a relevant person is entitled to or in receipt of an old age (contributory) pension, retirement pension or invalidity pension and the spouse of that person is also entitled to or in receipt of any of the said pensions,
( g ) where a relevant person is entitled to or in receipt of an old age pension or a blind pension and the spouse of that person is entitled to or in receipt of any benefit or assistance (other than maternity allowance),
( h ) where a relevant person is entitled to or in receipt of an old age pension or a blind pension and the spouse of that person is not entitled to or in receipt of any benefit or assistance, or
( i ) notwithstanding paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) or (h) of this sub-article, where—
(i) the relevant person is a single person,
(ii) the relevant person is a married person and the spouse of the relevant person is living apart from that person and is not making a financial contribution to the maintenance of a qualified child who normally resides with the relevant person, or
(iii) the relevant person is entitled to or in receipt of old age pension or blind pension and the spouse of that person is entitled to or in receipt of maternity allowance.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (e) of sub-article (2) of this article—
"couple" means a married couple who are living together or a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as husband and wife;
"spouse" means each person of a couple in relation to the other.
(4) For the purposes of sub-article (2) of this article—
( a ) weekly income shall, subject to sub-article (5) of this article, be calculated or estimated—
(i) insofar as it comprises earnings from employment as an employee, by reference to the weekly average of the gross amount of all such earnings received in the previous two months where such earnings are received at monthly intervals or in the previous period of six weeks where such earnings are received at weekly or fortnightly intervals,
(ii) insofar as it comprises income from any form of self-employment, by reference to the weekly amount of such income calculated or estimated by dividing the income in the period of the last complete income tax year by 52,
(iii) insofar as it comprises income from any other source, by reference to the normal weekly amount of such income, and
( b ) any sums received by way of—
(i) disablement benefit under section 43 of the Principal Act (exclusive of unemployability supplement),
(ii) death benefit under section 52 of the Principal Act,
(iii) orphan's (contributory) allowance,
(iv) orphan's (non-contributory) pension,
(v) children's allowance or child benefit, or
(vi) allowances for domiciliary care of handicapped children under the Health Act, 1970 ,
shall be disregarded.
(5) Where in any case, a deciding officer or an appeals officer considers that the periods mentioned in paragraph (a) of sub-article (4) of this article would not be appropriate to determine the amount of weekly income, he may, for the purposes of this article, have regard to such other period or periods as appear to him to be appropriate for that purpose.
(6) Save as provided for in section 44 of the Principal Act (as modified by article 12 of these Regulations), an increase in disablement benefit by way of a household supplement shall not be payable.
	5 Rates of household supplement.	5. (1) In the case of a relevant person to whom paragraph (a), (b), or (h) of sub-article (2) of article 4 of these Regulations applies, the weekly rate...