Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007

• Enactment Date: 30 March 2007
• Act Number: 8

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Number 8 of 2007

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SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2007

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Act 2022 (52/2022), enacted 21 December 2022, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Planning And Development And Foreshore (Amendment) Act 2022 (Commencement) Order 2023 (S.I. No. 1 of 2023), made 9 January 2023, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 8 of 2007

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SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2007

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Pensions Acts 1990 to 2018: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Act 2018 (37/2018), s. 1(3)). The Acts in this group are:

• Pensions Act 1990 (25/1990)

• Pensions (Amendment) Act 1996 (18/1996)

• Pensions (Amendment) Act 2002 (18/2002)

• Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 (4/2003), s. 24

• Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 (9/2004), ss. 22 and 23

• Equality Act 2004 (24/2004), Part 4

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005 (4/2005), ss. 27-39

• Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (5/2006), ss. 38-44

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (8/2007), s. 37

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 (2/2008), ss. 26-29

• Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 (22/2008), s. 24

• Social Welfare And Pensions Act 2009 (10/2009), Part 5

• Social Welfare And Pensions (No. 2) Act 2009 (43/2009), Part 3

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2010 (37/2010), Part 5

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 (9/2011), Part 4

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012 (12/2012), Part 3

• Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 (20/2013), Part 4

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2013 (38/2013), Part 4

• Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013 (49/2013), Part 3

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2014 (16/2014), Part 3

• Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2014 (41/2014), s. 4

• Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 (43/2015), s. 2

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2015 (47/2015), Part 3

• Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Act 2018 (37/2018), Part 3 (s. 27)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 (2/2008)

All Acts up to and including Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Act 2022 (52/2022), enacted 21 December 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 14) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 749 of 2007)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 9) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 702 of 2007)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Sections 21 and 24) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 699 of 2007)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 37) (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 632 of 2007)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 34) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 268 of 2007)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Sections 18, 20, 25(1), 35 and 36) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 256 of 2007)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Sections 5, 8, 22, 23 and 28) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 219 of 2007)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 37) (Commencement) Order, 2007 (S.I. No. 181 of 2007)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 35) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 146 of 2007)

All statutory instruments up to and including Planning And Development And Foreshore (Amendment) Act 2022 (Commencement) Order 2023 (S.I. No. 1 of 2023), made 9 January 2023, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 8 of 2007

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SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2007

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023

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Acts Referred to

Adoptive Leave Act 1995	1995, No. 2
Child Care Act 1991	1991, No. 17
Combat Poverty Agency Act 1986	1986, No. 14
Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993	1993, No. 8
Family Support Agency Act 2001	2001, No. 54
Health Contributions Act 1979	1979, No. 4
Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992	1992, No. 12
Maternity Protection Act 1994	1994, No. 34
Pensions Act 1990	1990, No. 25
Pensions Acts 1990 to 2006
Pensions (Amendment) Act 1996	1996, No. 18
Social Welfare Act 2005	2005, No. 30
Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005	2005, No. 4
Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005	2005, No. 26
Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006	2006, No. 5
Taxes Consolidation Act 1997	1997, No. 39

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Number 8 of 2007

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SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2007

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023

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AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, THE PENSIONS ACT 1990, THE COMBAT POVERTY AGENCY ACT 1986, THE TAXES CONSOLIDATION ACT 1997 AND THE FAMILY SUPPORT AGENCY ACT 2001.

[30th March, 2007]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

PART 1

Preliminary and General

1.

Short title, construction, collective citation and commencement.

1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007.

(2) The Social Welfare Acts and sections 1 to 36 shall be read together as one.

(3) Section 37 and the Pensions Acts 1990 to 2006 may be cited together as the Pensions Acts 1990 to 2007.

(4) Sections 5, 8, 9, 14 , 18 , 20 to 25 , 27 , 28 and 34 to 37, shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

Annotations

Editorial Notes:

E1

Power pursuant to section exercised (31.10.2007) by Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 14) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 749 of 2007).

2. The 1st day of November 2007 is appointed as the day on which section 14 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (No. 8 of 2007) comes into operation.

E2

Power pursuant to section exercised (27.09.2007) by Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Sections 21 and 24) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 699 of 2007).

2. The 27th day of September 2007 is appointed as the day on which sections 21(b) and (c) and 24 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (No. 8 of 2007) come into operation.

E3

Power pursuant to section exercised (11.09.2007) by Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 37) (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 632 of 2007).

2. The 17th day of September 2007 is appointed as the day on which section 37 of, and Part 2 of Schedule 2 to, the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (No. 8 of 2007) come into operation in so far as section 3A of the Pensions Act 1990 (No. 25 of 1990) is amended pursuant to those provisions.

E4

Power pursuant to section exercised (6.09.2007) by Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 9) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 702 of 2007).

2. The 26th day of September 2007 is appointed as the day on which section 9 (other than paragraphs (b), (e)(i), (g)(i) and (i) of that section) of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (No. 8 of 2007) comes into operation.

E5

Power pursuant to section exercised (5.06.2007) by Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 34) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 268...