Social Welfare (Agreement With the Swiss Confederation on Social Security) Order, 1999

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 206/1999

WHEREAS the arrangements in respect of matters relating to social security set out in the Agreement in the Schedule to this Order (hereinafter called “the Agreement”) were made by the Government of Ireland with the Swiss Federal Council;

AND WHEREAS it is provided in Article 31 of the Agreement that the Agreement is subject to the exchange of notification of compliance with statutory and constitutional requirements;

AND WHEREAS it is provided in Article 31 of the Agreement that the Agreement will come into force on the first day of the third month following the month in which the notifications of compliance with statutory and constitutional requirements have been received;

AND WHEREAS the aforesaid notifications of compliance with statutory and constitutional requirements were received in Ireland on 29 January 1999 (Swiss notification) and received in Switzerland on 22 April 1999 (Irish notification).

NOW THEREFORE the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 4 and 238 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 (No. 27 of 1993), hereby makes the following Order:-

1. This Order may be cited as the Social Welfare (Agreement with Switzerland on Social Security) Order, 1999.

2. The Agreement shall come into force on the 1st day of July, 1999.

3. On and from the 1st day of July, 1999 the Social Welfare Acts 1981 to 1999 and the regulations made under those Acts insofar as they relate to old age (contributory) pension, retirement pension, invalidity pension, widow's and widower's (contributory) pension, orphans (contributory) allowance, and the liability of a person employed outside the State to the payment of employment and self-employment contributions shall be modified to the extent necessary to take account of and give effect to the provisions of the Agreement.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs this 1st day of July, 1999. DERMOT AHERN, Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order gives effect to the Bilateral Agreement on Social Security made between Ireland and the Swiss Confederation which comes into effect from 1st July 1999. The Order provides that the Social Welfare Acts and relevant regulations will be modified to take account of the provisions of the Agreement.

The primary purpose of the Agreement is to allow social insurance contributions paid in Ireland to assist a claimant to qualify for certain benefits in Switzerland and to allow social insurance contributions paid in Switzerland to count towards satisfying the contribution conditions for certain Irish benefits. In the case of Ireland the Agreement covers old age (contributory) pensions, retirement pensions, invalidity pensions, widow's and widower's (contributory) pensions and orphans (contributory) allowance. The Agreement also deals with the liability, for Irish social insurance contributions (PRSI), of “detached” workers who are seconded to work in Switzerland for a temporary period by an employer who has his business in Ireland. Such workers will continue to remain attached to the Irish PRSI system for periods of absences up to two years.

SCHEDULE AGREEMENT BETWEEN IRELAND AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION ON SOCIAL SECURITY

The Government of Ireland and the Swiss Federal Council guided by the wish to regulate relations between their two countries in the field of Social Security,

Have agreed to conclude the following Agreement:

PART I General Provisions

ARTICLE 1

Definitions

1. In this Agreement the following definitions shall apply:

a. “Contracting States”

Ireland and the Swiss Confederation;

b. “national”

with reference to Ireland, an Irish national, with reference to Switzerland, a Swiss national;

c. “other persons”

with reference to Ireland, citizens of third states, who are insured persons as in (1):

d. “legislation”

the laws and regulations of the Contracting States as listed in Article 2;

e. “competent authority”

with reference to Ireland, the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, with reference to Switzerland, the Federal Social Insurance Office;

f. “competent institution”

the establishment or authority which has the task of implementing the legislation designated by Article 2;

g. “insurance periods”

with reference to Switzerland, the contribution periodsjy periods of gainful activity or periods of domicile, as well as equivalent periods which are determined or recognised as insurance periods under Swiss legislation;

with reference to Ireland, a period in respect of which qualifying contributions have been paid or a period in respect of which qualifying contributions have been treated as paid or credited and which has been or can be used to acquire the right to benefit under the Irish legislation;

h. “cash benefit” or “pension”

a cash benefit or pension provided for in the laws specified in Article 2, including where appropriate, all supplements and increases;

i. “reside”

stay ordinarily;

j. “domicile”

within the meaning of the Swiss Civil Code, the place in which a person is staying with the intention of permanent stay;

k. “gainful activity”

with reference to Ireland, an insurable employment or insurable self-employment, within the meaning of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 ;

l. “insured person”

with reference to Ireland, a person who is in insurable employment or insurable self-employment or a voluntary contributor within the meaning of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 ;

m. “refugee”

a refugee as defined by the convention on the Status of Refugees of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January 1967 to that Convention;

n. “stateless person”

a stateless person as defined by the Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons of 28 September 1954;

o. “family members and survivors”

with reference to Switzerland a family member and survivor, whose rights are derived from a national of one Contracting State, from a refugee or from a stateless person;

with reference to Ireland a widow, a widower, a spouse, an adult dependant and a child dependant within the meaning of the applicable legislation;

p. “invalidity”

with reference to Switzerland invalidity in the meaning of the Federal Act on invalidity insurance;

q. “sickness benefit”

with reference to Ireland means disability benefit.

2. Any other expression used in this Agreement shall have the meaning assigned to it in the applicable legislation.

ARTICLE 2

Legislative Scope

1. This Agreement shall apply:

A. in Switzerland

a. to the Federal Act on old-age and survivors' insurance,

b. to the Federal Act on invalidity insurance,

c. to the Federal Act on Sickness Insurance in relation to Articles 3, 11 and 18-32 of this Agreement;

B. in Ireland

to the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Acts 1993 to 1997 and the regulations made thereunder to the extent that they provide for and apply to:

a. old-age (contributory) pension,

b. retirement pension,

c. survivors' (contributory) pension,

d. orphans' (contributory) pension,

e. invalidity pension and

f. the liability to pay employment or self-employment contributions while employed or self-employed outside of the State.

2. This Agreement shall also apply to all laws and regulations which amend, supplement, consolidate or supersede, the legislation specified in paragraph 1.

3. This Agreement shall also apply to any laws and regulations which provide for additional schemes of Social Security only where such application is expressly agreed by the Contracting States.

4. Subject to paragraph 3 this Agreement shall apply to laws and regulations which extend the legislation of one Contracting State to new categories of beneficiaries only if, following written notification of same, no objection on the part of the other Contracting State has been communicated to the former Contracting State within six months from the coming into force of the said laws or regulations.

5. This Agreement shall not affect the Regulations on Social Security of the European Union or any other treaties or other international agreements concluded between a Contracting State and a third State, or laws or regulations promulgated for their specific implementation.

ARTICLE 3

Personal Scope

1. Subject to the following paragraphs, this Agreement shall apply to the nationals of the Contracting States as well as to their family members and their survivors.

2. This Agreement shall also apply to refugees, to stateless persons and to

a. their family members,

b. their survivors

who reside in the territory of a Contracting State. More favourable national provisions shall not be affected.

3. As regards Switzerland, with reference to Articles 5,6 paragraphs 1-3, 7 paragraphs 3 and 4, 8 paragraphs 2, 9-11 and 17-27, this Agreement shall also apply to persons other than those specified in paragraphs 1 and 2.

4. As regards Ireland, this Agreement shall also apply to persons other than those specified in paragraphs 1 and 2.

ARTICLE 4

Equality of Treatment

1. Unless provided otherwise by this Agreement, nationals of one Contracting State as well as their family members and survivors shall, in the application of the legislation of the other Contracting State, receive equal treatment with the nationals of that State or their family members or survivors, as the case may be.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to Swiss legislation,

a. on the voluntary old age, survivors, and invalidity insurance of Swiss nationals residing abroad;

b. on old-age, survivors' and invalidity insurance of Swiss nationals who are gainfully occupied abroad (excluding Ireland) in the service of the Swiss Confederation or of institutions designated by...