Social Welfare Act, 1986

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 8/1986

Number 8 of 1986
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1986
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
Section 1. Definitions. 2. Social insurance benefits (new rates). 3. Social assistance payments (new rates). 4. Family income supplement. 5. Amendment of section 73 of Principal Act (pay-related benefit). 6. Pay-related social insurance contributions (increase in earnings ceiling). 7. Amendment of section 65 of Principal Act (employment contributions). 8. Exemption from payment of contributions etc. 9. Disqualifications for disability benefit, injury benefit or disablement benefit. 10. Amendment of section 18 of Principal Act (title to benefit). 11. Weekly rate of maternity allowance. 12. Amendment of section 39 of Principal Act (extension of meaning of references to accidents arising out of and in the course of employment). 13. Amendment of section 42 of Principal Act (injury benefit). 14. Amendment of section 48 of Principal Act (adjustments for successive accidents). 15. Amendment of section 114 of Principal Act (inspectors). 16. Amendment of section 143A of Principal Act (appointment and duties of social welfare officers). 17. Child Benefit. 18. Financing of health board expenditure. 19. Amendment of section 29 of Principal Act. 20. Evidential effect of certificate in prosecutions. 21. Amendment of section 43 of Principal Act (disablement benefit). 22. Restriction of provisions requiring laying of draft regulations before Houses of Oireachtas. 23. Repeals. 24. Short title, construction and collective citation.
SCHEDULE A
SCHEDULE B
SCHEDULE C
SCHEDULE D
Acts Referred to Health Act, 1970 1970, No. 1 Health Contributions Act, 1979 1979, No. 4 Protection of Employees (Employers Insolvency) Act, 1984 1984, No. 21 Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 1967, No. 21 Redundancy Payments Act, 1979 1979, No. 7 Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 1981, No. 1 Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 1981, No. 3 Social Welfare Act, 1982 1982, No. 2 Social Welfare Act, 1983 1983, No. 6 Social Welfare Act, 1984 1984, No. 5 Social Welfare Act, 1985 1985, No. 5 Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1985 1985, No. 14 Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1985 Youth Employment Agency Act, 1981 1981, No. 32
Number 8 of 1986
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1986
AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, 1981 TO 1985. [27th March, 1986]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
	Definitions.	1.—In this Act—
	“the Act of 1984” means the Social Welfare Act, 1984 ;
	“the Act of 1985” means the Social Welfare Act, 1985 ;
	“the No. 2 Act of 1985” means the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1985 ;
	“the Principal Act” means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 .
	Social insurance benefits (new rates).	2.— (1) (a) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I to V (inserted by the Act of 1985) of the Second Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule A to this Act.
	(b) This subsection shall come into operation—
	(i) in so far as it relates to unemployment benefit, on the 15th day of May, 1986,
	(ii) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, maternity allowance, injury benefit, disablement gratuity and disablement pension, on the 19th day of May, 1986,
	(iii) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's benefit, invalidity pension and retirement pension, on the 22nd day of May, 1986, and
	(iv) 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 23rd day of May, 1986.
	(2) (a) The Principal Act is hereby further amended by the substitution for Parts I to V (inserted by subsection (1) (a) of this section of this Act) of the Second Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule B to this Act.
	(b) This subsection shall come into operation—
	(i) in so far as it relates to unemployment benefit, on the 10th day of July, 1986,
	(ii) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, maternity allowance, injury benefit, disablement gratuity and disablement pension, on the 14th day of July, 1986,
	(iii) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's benefit, invalidity pension and retirement pension, on the 17th day of July, 1986, and
	(iv) 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 18th day of July, 1986.
	Social assistance payments (new rates).	3.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I and III (inserted by the Act of 1985) of the Fourth Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule C to this Act.
	(2) This section shall come into operation—
	(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance, on the 9th day of July, 1986,
	(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 17th day of July, 1986,
	(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 18th day of July, 1986, and
	(d) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on the 14th day of July, 1986.
	Family income supplement.	4.—(1) Section 232B (inserted by the Act of 1984) of the Principal Act (which relates to the entitlement to family income supplement) is hereby amended by the substitution for “£18” (inserted by the Act of 1985) of “£20”.
	(2) Section 232C (inserted by the Act of 1984) of the Principal Act (which relates to the weekly rate of family income supplement) is hereby amended by—
	(a) the substitution in subsection (1) for “25 per cent.” of “one-third”,
	(b) the substitution in subsection (2) (a) for “£8” of “£10”,
	(c) the substitution in subsection (2) (b) for “£8” of “£10”, and for “£2.50” (inserted by the Act of 1985) of “£4”, and
	(d) the substitution for subsections (3) and (4) of the following subsection:
	“(3) In calculating the weekly rate pursuant to subsection (1), any fraction of £1 shall be treated as £1.”.
	(3) This section shall come into operation on the 10th day of April, 1986.
	Amendment of section 73 of Principal Act (pay-related benefit).	5.—(1) Section 73 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for “£49” (inserted by the Act of 1985) of “£58”.
	(2) This section shall have effect in relation to any period of interruption of employment commencing on or after the 7th day of April, 1986.
	Pay-related social insurance contributions (increase in earnings ceiling).	6.—(1) Section 10 (1) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (c) (inserted by the Act of 1985) of the following paragraph:
	“(c) Where in a particular contribution year an employed contributor's reckonable earnings have amounted to the sum of £14,700 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, 1986.
	Amendment of section 65 of Principal Act (employment contributions).	7.—(1) Section 65 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsections (2) (a) (ii) and (2) (b) for “0.4 per cent.” (inserted by the Act of 1984) of “0.43 per cent.”.
	(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1986.
	Exemption from payment of contributions etc.	8.—Any employer who, during the period commencing on the 23rd day of October, 1985, and ending on the 31st day of March, 1986, employed, under and by virtue of the scheme administered by the Department of Social Welfare and known as the Employers' Pay-Related Social Insurance Exemption Scheme, additional employees shall not, during the period commencing on the 6th day of April, 1986, and ending on the 5th day of April, 1987, be liable to pay in respect of additional employees who constitute a net increase in the employer's workforce under the scheme all or any of the following, namely—
	(a) the contribution specified in section 10 (1) (b) (ii) (as amended by the Social Welfare Act, 1982 ) of the Principal Act;
	(b) the employment contribution specified in subsection (2) (a) (ii), and the increase specified in subsection (2) (b), of section 65 (as amended by this Act) of the Principal Act;
	(c) the health contribution payable by an employer under section 5 (1) (b) of the Health Contributions Act, 1979 ;
	(d) the youth employment levy payable under section 16 (c) of the Youth Employment Agency Act, 1981 ; or
	(e) the employers' redundancy contribution payable under section 28 (inserted by section 3 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1979 , and extended by section 2 of the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984 ) of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 .
	Disqualifications for disability benefit, injury benefit or disablement benefit.	9.—(1) Section 23 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) for “6 weeks” of “9 weeks”.
	(2) Section 61 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) for “6 weeks” of “9 weeks”.
	Amendment of section 18 of Principal Act (title to benefit).	10.—Section 18 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion...