Social Welfare Act, 1983

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 6/1983

Number 6 of 1983
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1983
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section 1. Definitions. 2. Social insurance benefits (new rates). 3. Social assistance payments (new rates). 4. Pay-related social insurance contributions (increase in earnings ceiling). 5. Short-time employment. 6. Title to unemployment benefit. 7. Title to pay-related benefit. 8. Pay-related benefit (additional waiting days for certain benefits). 9. Rate of pay-related benefit. 10. Duration of payment of pay-related benefit. 11. Maternity grant. 12. Children's allowances (modification of qualifications). 13. Unemployment assistance (abolition of alternative method of calculation of means). 14. Employment contributions (modification of liability). 15. Supplementary welfare allowance (financing of health board expenditure). 16. Insurable (occupational injuries) employment (extension). 17. Amendment of section 115 of Principal Act. 18. Amendment of section 116 of Principal Act. 19. Amendment of section 144 of Principal Act. 20. Amendment of section 145 of Principal Act. 21. Amendment of section 168 of Principal Act. 22. Amendment of section 188 of Principal Act. 23. Amendment of section 231 of Principal Act. 24. Amendment of section 266 of Principal Act. 25. Amendment of section 267 of Principal Act. 26. Short title, construction and collective citation.
SCHEDULE A
SCHEDULE B
Acts Referred to Social Welfare Act, 1982 1982, No. 2 Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 1981, No. 3 Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 1981, No. 1
Number 6 of 1983
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1983
AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, 1981 AND 1982. [31st March, 1983]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
	Definitions.	1.—In this Act—
	“the Act of 1982” means the Social Welfare Act, 1982 ;
	“the Principal Act” means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 .
	Social insurance benefits (new rates).	2.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I to V of the Second Schedule (inserted by the Act of 1982) of the Parts set out in Schedule A to this Act.
	(2) This section shall come into operation—
	(a) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, unemployment benefit, maternity allowance, deserted wife's benefit, invalidity pension, retirement pension, injury benefit, disablement gratuity and disablement pension, on the 30th day of June, 1983, and
	(b) in so far as it relates to death benefit under section 50, 51 or 52 of the Principal Act, old age (contributory) pension, widow's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance, on the 1st day of July, 1983.
	Social assistance payments (new rates).	3.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I and III of the Fourth Schedule (inserted by the Act of 1982) of the Parts set out in Schedule B to this Act.
	(2) This section shall come into operation—
	(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance and supplementary welfare allowance, on the 29th day of June, 1983,
	(b) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance, social assistance allowance and single woman's allowance, on the 30th day of June, 1983, and
	(c) in so far as it relates to old age pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on the 1st day of July, 1983.
	Pay-related social insurance contributions (increase in earnings ceiling).	4.—(1) Section 10 (1) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (c) (inserted by the Act of 1982) of the following paragraph:
	“(c) where in a particular contribution year an employed contributor's reckonable earnings have amounted to the sum of £13,000 and contributions under paragraph (b) have been paid in respect of those reckonable earnings, no further such contribution shall be payable in respect of any reckonable earnings of that employed contributor in that contribution year.”.
	(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1983.
	Short-time employment.	5.—The following definition is hereby inserted in section 2 (1) of the Principal Act after the definition of “regulations”:
	“‘short-time employment’ means employment in which, for the time being, a number of days is systematically worked in a working week which is less than the number of days which is normal in a working week in the employment concerned.”.
	Title to unemployment benefit.	6.—(1) The following subsection is hereby inserted after subsection (6) of section 29 of the Principal Act:
	“(7) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the number of days of unemployment in respect of which a person engaged in short-time employment shall be entitled to unemployment benefit in any week shall be limited so that the total of the number of days in respect of which such benefit is paid and the number of days worked shall not exceed 5, and in such a case the amount payable by way of such benefit for any day of unemployment in that week shall, notwithstanding subsection (6), be one-fifth of the appropriate weekly rate.”.
	(2) This section shall come into operation on the 4th day of April, 1983.
	Title to pay-related benefit.	7.—(1) The following subsection is hereby inserted after subsection (2) of section 72 of the Principal Act:
	“(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person engaged in short-time employment shall not be entitled to pay-related benefit for any day in respect of which he is entitled to unemployment benefit.”.
	(2) This section shall come into operation on the 4th day of April, 1983.
	Pay-related benefit (additional waiting days for certain benefits).	8.—(1) Section 72 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) (as amended by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ) of the following subsection:
	“(1) Subject to this Chapter, a person who had reckonable earnings in the relevant income tax year shall be entitled to pay-related benefit in respect of any day which—
	(a) is a day of incapacity for work which forms part of a period of interruption of employment and in respect of which the person is entitled to disability benefit or maternity allowance or in respect of which the person would be entitled to benefit of either of those descriptions but for the fact that injury benefit is payable to the person under Chapter 5 in respect of that day, or
	(b) is a day of unemployment which forms part of a period of interruption of employment and in respect of which the person is entitled to unemployment benefit,
	and which is not earlier than the 19th day of incapacity for work in a period of incapacity for work (within the meaning of section 18 (4)) or which is not earlier than the 19th day of unemployment, as the case may be, in the period of interruption of employment: provided that, where a period of incapacity for work is not separated by more than 3 days from a preceding day of unemployment in respect of which pay-related benefit was payable, that benefit shall be payable from the 19th day of incapacity for work in the period of interruption of employment or from the first day of that period of incapacity for work, whichever is the later.”.
	(2) This section shall apply to—
	(a) periods of incapacity for work (within the meaning of section 18 (4) of the Principal Act), and
	(b) periods of interruption of employment,
	which commence on or after the 4th day of April, 1983.
	Rate of pay-related benefit.	9.—(1) The following section is hereby substituted for section 73 of the Principal Act (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ):
	“73.—The weekly rate of pay-related benefit payable to a person in any period of interruption of employment shall be an amount equal to—
	(a) for any part of that period up to the 159th day of incapacity for work, or for any part of that period up to the 159th day of unemployment, 25 per cent.,
	(b) for any part of that period from the 160th day of incapacity for work up to the 393rd such day, or for any part of that period from the 160th day of unemployment up to the 393rd such day, 20 per cent.,
	of the part (if any) of his reckonable weekly earnings for the relevant income tax year that exceeds £36 but does not exceed such limit as stands prescribed for the time being, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed to restrict the total amount of benefit payable under this Part to the person in respect of any week.”.
	(2) (a) Paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 73 of the Principal Act (inserted by this Act) shall come into operation on the 4th day of April, 1983.
	(b) The provision in section 73 of the Principal Act relating to the sum of £36 (inserted by this Act) shall apply to periods of interruption of employment commencing on or after the 4th day of April, 1983.
	Duration of payment of pay-related benefit.	10.—(1) Section 74 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (2) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ) of the following subsection:
	“(2) In calculating for the purposes of section 73 and this section whether, in a period of interruption of employment, a person has had a specified number of days of incapacity for work or a specified number of days of unemployment, account shall be taken of only—
	(a) the first 18 days of incapacity for work in that period and any day of incapacity for work in that period in respect of which that person was entitled to pay-related benefit or would have been so entitled but for any condition...