SOCIAL WELFARE ACT 2011

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 37/2011
• Year: 2011

Number 37 of 2011
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT 2011
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
Section
1. Short title, construction and collective citation.
2. Definitions.
PART 2
Amendments to Social Welfare Acts
3. Disablement benefit.
4. Qualified child increase.
5. State pension (contributory) and State pension (transition) — conditions for receipt.
6. Widow’s (contributory) pension, widower’s (contributory) pension and surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension.
7. Entitlement to one-parent family payment.
8. Child benefit — amendments.
9. Late claims.
10. Schedule 3 — amendments.
11. One-parent family payment — means assessment.
12. Disqualification from certain payments while participating in Community Employment.
13. Extension of PRSI liability to share-based remuneration.
14. Abolition of employer PRSI relief on employee pension contributions.
PART 3
Amendments to Redundancy Payments Act 1967
15. Amendment of section 29 of Redundancy Payments Act 1967.
Acts Referred to
Redundancy Payments Act 1967 1967, No. 21 Redundancy Payments Act 1979 1979, No. 7 Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2007 Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010 2010, No. 28 Social Welfare Act 2010 2010, No. 34 Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 2008, No. 2 Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2010 2010, No. 37 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 2005, No. 26 Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 2006, No. 5
Number 37 of 2011
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT 2011
AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS AND TO AMEND THE REDUNDANCY PAYMENTS ACTS 1967 TO 2007.
[19th December, 2011]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART 1 Preliminary and General
	Short title, construction and collective citation.	1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act 2011.
	(2) The Social Welfare Acts and Parts 1 and 2 of this Act shall be read together as one.
	(3) The Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2007 and Part 3 of this Act shall be read together as one and may be cited together as the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2011.
	Definitions.	2.— In this Act—
	“Act of 2010” means the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2010 ;
	“Principal Act” means the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 .
PART 2 Amendments to Social Welfare Acts
	Disablement benefit.	3.— (1) Section 75 of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a) in subsection (1) by substituting “not less than 15 per cent” for “not less than 1 per cent”,
	(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1):
	“(1A) In the case of any assessment of disablement—
	(a) where the period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 January 2012, or
	(b) where there has been a provisional assessment, and—
	(i) the initial period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 January 2012, and
	(ii) any subsequent period to be taken into account by the assessment begins on or after 1 January 2012,
	subsection (1) shall be read as if ‘not less than 1 per cent’ were substituted for ‘not less than 15 per cent’.”,
	(c) in subsection (2) by substituting “would amount to less than 15 per cent” for “would not amount to 1 per cent”,
	(d) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):
	“(2A) In the case of any assessment of disablement—
	(a) where the period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 January 2012, or
	(b) where there has been a provisional assessment, and—
	(i) the initial period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 January 2012, and
	(ii) any subsequent period to be taken into account by the assessment begins on or after 1 January 2012,
	subsection (2) shall be read as if ‘would not amount to 1 per cent’ were substituted for ‘would amount to less than 15 per cent’.”,
	(e) in subsection 10(a) by substituting “not less than 15 per cent” for “not less than 10 per cent”, and
	(f) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (11):
	“(11) (a) In the case of any assessment of disablement where the period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 May 1990, subsection (10)(a) shall be read as if the reference to ‘and the extent of disablement is assessed as amounting to not less than 15 per cent and not more than 19 per cent’ were deleted.
	(b) In the case of any assessment of disablement where the period to be taken into account by the assessment began on or after 1 May 1990 but before 1 January 2012, subsection (10)(a) shall be read as if a reference to ‘and the extent of disablement is assessed as amounting to not less than 10 per cent and not more than 19 per cent’ were substituted for the reference to ‘and the extent of disablement is assessed as amounting to not less than 15 per cent and not more than 19 per cent’.”.
	(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2012.
	Qualified child increase.	4.— (1) Section 77A (inserted by section 6 of the Social Welfare Act 2010 ) of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):
	“(2) Subject to subsection (3), any increase of disablement pension payable under subsection (1)(b) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount in any case where the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary is not a qualified adult and subsection (1)(b) shall be read and have effect accordingly.”,
	and
	(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (3):
	“(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply and no increase of disablement pension payable under subsection (1)(b) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.”.
	(2) The Principal Act is amended—
	(a) in section 102 (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010)—
	(i) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):
	“(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), any increase of carer’s benefit payable under subsection (1) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount and subsection (1) shall be read and have effect accordingly.”,
	and
	(ii) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (2):
	“(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply and no increase of carer’s benefit payable under subsection (1) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.
	(4) Subsection (3) shall not apply in the case of any claim for carer’s benefit which is made before 5 July 2012.”,
	(b) in section 112 (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010)—
	(i) in subsection (3), by substituting “Subject to subsections (3A) and (3B), any increase of” for “Any increase of”, and
	(ii) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (3):
	“(3A) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of State pension (contributory) payable under subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.
	(3B) Subsection (3A) shall not apply in the case of any claim for State pension (contributory) which is made before 6 July 2012.”,
	(c) in section 117 (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010)—
	(i) in subsection (3), by substituting “Subject to subsections (3A) and (3B), any increase of” for “Any increase of”, and
	(ii) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (3):
	“(3A) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of State pension (transition) payable under subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.
	(3B) Subsection (3A) shall not apply in the case of any claim for State pension (transition) which is made before 5 July 2012.”,
	and
	(d) in section 122 (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010)—
	(i) in subsection (3), by substituting “Subject to subsections (3A) and (3B), any increase of” for “Any increase of”, and
	(ii) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (3):
	“(3A) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of invalidity pension payable under subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.
	(3B) Subsection (3A)...