Social Welfare Act, 1996

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 7/1996

Number 7 of 1996
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1996
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
Preliminary
Section 1. Short title and construction. 2. Definitions.
PART II
Increases
3. Social insurance benefits (new rates). 4. Social assistance payments (new rates). 5. Child benefit (new rates, etc.). 6. Family income supplement (new weekly rates). 7. Continued payment for qualified children.
PART III
Social Insurance Contributions
8. Employment contributions (new rates of contributions and increases in earnings ceilings). 9. Self-employment contributions (new rates of contributions and increase in earnings ceiling). 10. Optional contributions (new rates of contributions). 11. Voluntary contributions by former self-employed contributors. 12. Insurable employment.
PART IV
Disability Allowance
13. Disability allowance. 14. Transitional provisions. 15. Amendments consequential on section 13 and repeal. 16. Commencement (Part IV).
PART V
One-Parent Family Payment
17. One-parent family payment. 18. Transitional provisions. 19. Repeals, etc. 20. One-parent family payment— entitlement of person whose marriage has been dissolved. 21. Commencement (Part V).
PART VI
Unemployment Assistance
22. Unemployment assistance. 23. Rules as to calculation of means.
PART VII
Pensions
24. Homemakers. 25. Pre-retirement allowance. 26. Old age (contributory) and retirement pensions— conditions for receipt. 27. Widow's and widower's (contributory) pension. 28. Widow's and widower's (contributory) pension— entitlement of person whose marriage has been dissolved. 29. Commencement (Part VII).
PART VIII
Amendment of Part VII of Principal Act: Decisions, Appeals and Social Welfare Tribunal
30. Supplementary welfare allowance— appeals. 31. Decisions and determinations under Social Welfare Acts. 32. Effect of revised decisions. 33. Amendment of section 274 of Principal Act. 34. Award of expenses.
PART IX
Miscellaneous Amendments
35. Regulations (payment of benefit beyond pensionable age). 36. Supplementary welfare allowance— administration. 37. Assessment of means for social assistance payments. 38. Student who reaches 22 years of age during academic year to be regarded as qualified child up to end of academic year. 39. Increase of disablement pension where constant attendance is needed. 40. Social insurance fund (payment of fees). 41. Limitation period for proceedings. 42. Budgeting in relation to social welfare payments. 43. Employment statements.
PART X
Amendment of Section 5 of Combat Poverty Agency Act, 1986
44. Deferral of period for submission of strategic plan by combat poverty agency.
PART XI
Amendment of Health Contributions Act, 1979 and Youth Employment Agency Act, 1981
45. Amendment of sections 7A and 11 of Health Contributions Act, 1979. 46. Amendment of sections 18A and 22 of Youth Employment Agency Act, 1981.
SCHEDULE A
SCHEDULE B
SCHEDULE C
SCHEDULE D
SCHEDULE E
SCHEDULE F
SCHEDULE G
SCHEDULE H
SCHEDULE I
Number 7 of 1996
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1996
AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, SECTIONS 7A AND 11 OF THE HEALTH CONTRIBUTIONS ACT, 1979 , SECTIONS 18A AND 22 OF THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AGENCY ACT, 1981 , AND SECTION 5 OF THE COMBAT POVERTY AGENCY ACT, 1986 , AND TO REPEAL SECTION 69 OF THE HEALTH ACT, 1970 . [3rd April, 1996]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART I Preliminary
	Short title and construction.	1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act, 1996.
	(2) The Social Welfare Acts and this Act (other than Parts X and XI and section 15 (5)) shall be construed together as one.
	Definitions.	2.—In this Act—
	“the Principal Act” means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 ;
	“the Act of 1994” means the Social Welfare Act, 1994 ;
	“the Act of 1995” means the Social Welfare Act, 1995 ;
	“the No. 2 Act of 1995” means the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1995 .
PART II Increases
	Social insurance benefits (new rates).	3.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I to IV (inserted by section 3 of the Act of 1995) of the Second Schedule thereto 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 unemployment benefit, on the 6th day of June, 1996,
	(b) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, health and safety benefit, injury benefit, disablement gratuity and disablement pension, on the 10th day of June, 1996,
	(c) in so far as it relates to retirement pension, invalidity pension and deserted wife's benefit, on the 13th day of June, 1996, and
	(d) in so far as it relates to death benefit under section 60, 61, 62 or 63 of the Principal Act, old age (contributory) pension, survivor's pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance, on the 14th day of June, 1996.
	Social assistance payments (new rates).	4.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I and II (inserted by section 4 of the Act of 1995) of the Fourth Schedule thereto 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, on the 5th day of June, 1996,
	(b) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on the 10th day of June, 1996,
	(c) in so far as it relates to pre-retirement allowance, deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance, lone parent's allowance (other than lone parent's allowance payable in respect of a widow or widower), carer's allowance and prescribed relative allowance, on the 13th day of June, 1996, and
	(d) in so far as it relates to old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension, lone parent's allowance payable in respect of a widow or widower and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on the 14th day of June, 1996.
	Child benefit (new rates, etc.).	5.—(1) The Fourth Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Part III (inserted by section 5 of the Act of 1995) of the following Part:
	“PART III
	Amounts Of Child Benefit
Amount for each of first 2 children Amount for each child in excess of 2 (1) (2) £29 £34
	”.
	(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall come into operation on the 1st day of September, 1996.
	(3) Section 194 (as amended by section 5 of the Act of 1994) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—
	(a) the substitution in subsection (4) of “£500” for “£200”,
	(b) the insertion after subsection (6) of the following subsection:
	“(6A) Subject to this Act, a person, other than a person to whom subsection (2) applies, who is qualified for child benefit shall be paid a grant in respect of twins (being qualified children) of £500 on the 4th and 12th anniversary of the birth of the last-born of the twins.”, and
	(c) the insertion in subsection (7) after “subsection (3)” of “or subsection (6A)”.
	(4) Subsection (3) of this section shall apply in the case of twins (being qualified children) who are born or attain the age of 4 years or 12 years, as the case may be, on or after the 1st day of January, 1996.
	(5) Section 192 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (2) (as amended by section 5 of the Act of 1995) of the following subsection:
	“(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), a child who resides with a qualified person and such person's spouse while the qualified person or such person's spouse—
	(a) being a member of the Defence Forces or a civil servant in the civil service of the Government or the State, is in the service, outside the State, of the Government, the State or an international organisation,
	(b) is a volunteer development worker, or
	(c) is an insured person employed outside the State in respect of whom employment contributions under Part II are payable in accordance with regulations made under section 25,
	shall be a qualified child for the purposes of this Part.”.
	Family income supplement (new weekly rates).	6.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for section 198 (inserted by section 6 of the Act of 1994) of the following section:
	“Entitlement to supplement.
	198.—Subject to this Act, an allowance (in this Act referred to as ‘family income supplement’) shall be payable out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas in respect of a family where the weekly family income is less than—
	(a) in the case of a family which includes only 1 child, £195,
	(b) in the case of a family which includes 2 children, £215,
	(c) in the case of a family which includes 3 children, £235,
	(d) in the case of a family which includes 4 children, £255,
	(e) in the case of a family which includes 5 children, £280,
	(f) in the case of a family which includes 6 children, £300,
	(g) in the case of a family which includes 7 children, £317, or
	(h) in the case of a family which includes 8 or more children, £334.”.
	(2) This section shall come into operation on the 13th day of June, 1996.
	Continued payment for qualified children.	7.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after Part V of the following Part:
	“PART VA
	Continued Payment for Qualified Children
	Entitlement to payment.
	203A.—(1) Subject to this Act, a continued payment for qualified children...