Social Welfare Act, 1970

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 12/1970
• Year: 1970

Number 12 of 1970
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1970
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Part I
Preliminary and General
Section 1. Short title, construction and collective citation. 2. Interpretation.
Part II
Death Grant, Invalidity Pension, Retirement Pension, Old Age (Care) Allowance and Deserted Wife's Allowance
3. Commencement of Part II. 4. Amendment of section 14 of Act of 1952 (descriptions and rates of benefit and contribution conditions). 5. Death grant. 6. Invalidity pension. 7. Retirement pension. 8. Amendment of section 26 of Act of 1952 (increase of benefit for adult dependants). 9. Amendment of section 27 (1) of Act of 1952 (increase of benefit—qualified children). 10. Partial satisfaction of contribution conditions (death grant and retirement pension). 11. Amendment of section 30 of Act of 1952 (disqualifications arising for woman on her marriage). 12. Amendment of section 31 of Act of 1952 (absence from the State or imprisonment). 13. Amendment of section 32 of Act of 1952 (overlapping benefits, etc.). 14. Amendment of section 37 (1) of Act of 1952 (special provisions for voluntary contributors). 15. Amendment of section 47 (2) (b) of Act of 1952 (administration of benefit). 16. Transitional provisions in relation to invalidity pension, retirement pension and death grant. 17. Amendment of Third Schedule to Act of 1952 (rate or amount of benefit). 18. Amendment of Fourth Schedule to Act of 1952 (contribution conditions). 19. Amendment of section 9 of Act of 1952 (return of sums paid in error by way of contributions). 20. Amendment of Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966. 21. Old age (care) allowance. 22. Deserted wife's allowance. 23. Power to remove difficulties.
Part III
MISCELLANEOUS
24. Increase of rates of old age pensions. 25. Increase of rates of unemployment assistance. 26. Increase of certain rates of unemployment benefit. 27. Increase of rates of widows' (non-contributory) pension. 28. Increase of rates of orphans' (non-contributory) pensions. 29. Extension of “qualified child”. 30. Increase of rates of children's allowances. 31. Amendment of Third Schedule to Act of 1952. 32. Amendment of Second Schedule to Act of 1952. 33. Amendment of section 6 of Act of 1952. 34. Amendment of Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966. 35. Restriction of section 13 of Act of 1966 and of certain regulations under section 32 of Act of 1952. 36. Amendment of Rule 1 (III) of Seventh Schedule to Act of 1952.
SCHEDULE
CONTRIBUTION CONDITIONS (DEATH GRANT, INVALIDITY PENSION, RETIREMENT PENSION)
Acts Referred to Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933 1933, No. 46 Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 1935, No. 29 Social Welfare Act, 1952 1952, No. 11 Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960 1960, No. 25 Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1963 1963, No. 26 Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1964 1964, No. 28 Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1965 1965, No. 20 Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1966 1966, No. 24 Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1967 1967, No. 18 Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968 1968, No. 31 Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1969 1969, No 19 Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1962 1962, No. 17 Old Age Pensions Act, 1924 1924, No. 19 Children's Allowances (Amendment) Act, 1946 1946, No. 8 Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966 1966, No. 16 Social Welfare (Modifications of Insurance) Regulations, 1956 1956, S.I. No. 236 Unemployment Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1935 1935, No. 38
Number 12 of 1970
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1970
AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE OLD AGE PENSIONS ACTS, 1908 TO 1969, THE UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE ACTS, 1933 TO 1969, THE WIDOWS' AND ORPHANS' PENSIONS ACTS, 1935 TO 1969, THE SOCIAL WELFARE (CHILDREN'S ALLOWANCES) ACTS, 1944 TO 1969, AND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, 1952 TO 1969. [29th July, 1970.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART I Preliminary and General
	Short title, construction and collective citation.	1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act, 1970.
	(2) This Act—
	(a) in so far as it amends and extends the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1969, shall be construed as one with those Acts and may be cited together with them as the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1970,
	(b) in so far as it amends and extends the Unemployment Assistance Acts, 1933 to 1969, shall be construed as one with those Acts and may be cited together with them as the Unemployment Assistance Acts, 1933 to 1970,
	(c) in so far as it amends and extends the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1969, shall be construed as one with those Acts and may be cited together with them as the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1970,
	(d) in so far as it amends and extends the Social Welfare (Children's Allowances) Acts, 1944 to 1969, shall be construed as one with those Acts and may be cited together with them as the Social Welfare (Children's Allowances) Acts, 1944 to 1970,
	(e) in so far as it amends and extends the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1969, shall be construed as one with those Acts and may be cited together with them as the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1970.
	Interpretation.	2.—In this Act—
	“the Act of 1933” means the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933 ;
	“the Act of 1935” means the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 ;
	“the Act of 1952” means the Social Welfare Act, 1952 ;
	“the Act of 1960” means the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960 ;
	“the Act of 1963” means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1963 ;
	“the Act of 1964” means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1964 ;
	“the Act of 1965” means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1965 ;
	“the Act of 1966” means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1966 ;
	“the Act of 1967” means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1967 ;
	“the Act of 1968” means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968 ;
	“the Act of 1969” means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1969 .
PART II Death Grant, Invalidity Pension, Retirement Pension, Old Age (Care) Allowance and Deserted Wife's Allowance.
	Commencement of Part II.	3.—This Part of this Act shall come into operation on the 1st day of October, 1970.
	Amendment of section 14 of Act of 1952 (descriptions and rates of benefit and contribution conditions).	4.—Section 14 of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (h) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966 ) of subsection (1):
	“(i) death grant,
	(j) invalidity pension,
	(k) retirement pension.”
	Death grant.	5.—The following section is hereby inserted in the Act of 1952 as section 25B:
	“Death Grant
	25B. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a death grant shall be payable, to such person or persons as may be prescribed, on the death of—
	(a) an insured person,
	(b) the wife or husband of an insured person,
	(c) the widow or widower of a deceased insured person, or
	(d) a qualified child,
	if the relevant contribution conditions are satisfied, but only one death grant shall be paid by virtue of this section on any one death.
	(2) For the purposes of this section, item 3 of Part II of the Third Schedule to this Act and paragraph 7 of the Fourth Schedule thereto ‘qualified child’ means a person—
	(a) who is under the age of eighteen at the date of death,
	(b) who is ordinarily resident in the State on that date, and
	(c) in respect of whose death the relevant contribution conditions for death grant are not satisfied by such person's insurance or the insurance of such person's wife or husband.”
	Invalidity pension.	6.—The following section is hereby inserted in the Act of 1952 as section 25C:
	“Invalidity Pension
	25C. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall be entitled to invalidity pension if—
	(a) he is permanently incapable of work, and
	(b) he satisfies the relevant contribution conditions.
	(2) The conditions under which a person shall be regarded for the purposes of this section as being permanently incapable of work shall be specified by regulations.
	(3) Regulations may provide for disqualifying a person for receiving invalidity pension if he fails without good cause to observe any prescribed rules of behaviour.”
	Retirement pension.	7.—The following section is hereby inserted in the Act of 1952 as section 25D:
	“Retirement Pension
	25D. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person who has attained the age of sixty-five years shall be entitled to retirement pension for any period of retirement if he satisfies the relevant contribution conditions.
	(2) The periods which shall be regarded for the purposes of this section as periods of retirement shall be specified by regulations.”
	Amendment of section 26 of Act of 1952 (increase of benefit for adult dependants).	8.—Section 26 of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (4) (inserted by the Act of 1968) of the following subsections:
	“(5) The weekly rate of invalidity pension shall be increased by the amount set out in column (3) of Part I of the Third Schedule to this Act for—
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