SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS (NO. 2) ACT 2013

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 49/2013
• Year: 2013

Number 49 of 2013
SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS (NO. 2) ACT 2013
CONTENTS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
Section
1. Short title, construction and collective citations
PART 2
Amendments to Social Welfare Acts
2. Definition
3. Amendment of section 301 of Principal Act
4. Amendment of section 317 of Principal Act
5. Amendment of section 324 of Principal Act
6. Amendment of Schedule 3 to Principal Act
PART 3
Amendments to Pensions Act 1990
7. Definition
8. Amendment of section 41 of Act of 1990
9. Amendment of section 48 of Act of 1990
10. Insertion into Act of 1990 of new section 48A
11. Amendment of section 50 of Act of 1990
12. Amendment of section 50B of Act of 1990
13. Amendment of section 50C of Act of 1990
14. Amendment of section 59B of Act of 1990
SCHEDULE
Amendment of Schedule 3 to Principal Act
Acts Referred to
Pensions Act 1990 (No. 25)
Pensions Acts 1990 to 2013
Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984 (No. 21)
Social Welfare Acts
Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 (No. 2)
Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26)
Number 49 of2013
SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS (NO. 2) ACT 2013
An Act to amend and extend the Social Welfare Acts; to amend and extend the Pensions Act 1990; to make additional provision for the discharge of the liabilities in the winding up of certain occupational pension schemes and to provide for the discharge of liabilities of such schemes where employers are insolvent on or before the date of the wind up of such schemes; to provide for the payment, in certain circumstances, by the Minister for Finance of moneys to secure the discharge of certain liabilities in respect of certain occupational pension schemes that are being wound up where certain employers are insolvent on or before the date of the wind up of such schemes; to make additional provision for the restructuring of certain occupational pension schemes and for that purpose to provide for the reduction in the benefits being paid to certain persons under such schemes; and to provide for related matters.
[25th December, 2013]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
PART 1 Preliminary and General
		Short title, construction and collective citations
	1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013.
	(2) The Social Welfare Acts and Parts 1 and 2 shall be read together as one.
	(3) The Pensions Acts 1990 to 2013 and Part 3 shall be read together as one and may be cited together as the Pensions Acts 1990 to 2013.
PART 2 Amendments to Social Welfare Acts
		Definition
	2. In this Part “Principal Act” means the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 .
		Amendment of section 301 of Principal Act
	3. (1) Section 301 of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):
	“(1) A deciding officer may at any time—
	(a) revise any decision of a deciding officer—
	(i) where it appears to him or her that the decision was erroneous—
	(I) in the light of new evidence or new facts which have been brought to his or her notice since the date on which the decision was given, or
	(II) by reason of some mistake having been made in relation to the law or the facts,
	or
	(ii) where—
	(I) the effect of the decision was to entitle a person to any benefit within the meaning of section 240, and
	(II) it appears to the deciding officer that there has been any relevant change of circumstances which has come to notice since that decision was given,
	or
	(b) revise any decision of an appeals officer where—
	(i) the effect of the decision of the appeals officer was to entitle a person to any benefit within the meaning of section 240, and
	(ii) it appears to the deciding officer that there has been any relevant change of circumstances which has come to notice since the decision of the appeals officer was given,
	and the provisions of this Part as to appeals apply to a revised decision under this subsection in the same manner as they apply to an original decision of a deciding officer.”,
	(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2A) (inserted by section 18 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 ):
	“(2A) A deciding officer may at any time revise any determination of a designated person—
	(a) where it appears to him or her that the determination was erroneous—
	(i) in the light of new evidence or new facts which have been brought to his or her notice since the date on which the determination was made, or
	(ii) by reason of some mistake having been made in relation to the law or the facts,
	or
	(b) where—
	(i) the effect of the determination was to entitle a person to supplementary welfare allowance, and
	(ii) it appears to the deciding officer that there has been any relevant change of circumstances which has come to notice since that determination was made,
	and the provisions of this Part as to appeals shall apply to a decision of a deciding officer under this subsection in the same manner as they apply to an original decision of a deciding officer.”,
	and
	(c) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (4):
	“(5) In subsections (1)(a)(ii)(II), (1)(b)(ii) and (2A)(b)(ii), the reference to any relevant change of circumstances means any relevant change of circumstances that occurred before, or occurs on or after, the coming into operation of the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013.”.
	(2) Where, before the coming into operation of subsection (1), a request had been made under section 301 of the Principal Act for a decision or a revised decision on the grounds that there had been any relevant change of circumstances and the request had not been determined, that request shall be determined in accordance with section 301 of the Principal Act as if that section had not been amended by subsection (1).
		Amendment of section 317 of Principal Act
	4. (1) The Principal Act is amended by substituting the following section for section 317:
	“Revision by appeals officer of decision of appeals officer
	317. (1) An appeals officer may at any time revise any decision of an appeals officer—
	(a) where it appears to him or her that the decision was erroneous in the light of new evidence or new facts which have been brought to his or her notice since the date on which it was given, or
	(b) where—
	(i) the effect of the decision was to entitle a person to any benefit within the meaning of section 240, and
	(ii) it appears to the appeals officer that there has been any relevant change of circumstances which has come to notice since that decision was given.
	(2) In subsection (1)(b)(ii), the reference to any relevant change of circumstances means any relevant change of circumstances that occurred before, or occurs on or after, the coming into operation of the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013.”.
	(2) Where, before the coming into operation of subsection (1), a request had been made under section 317 of the Principal Act for a revised decision on the grounds that there had been any relevant change of circumstances and the request had not been determined, that request shall be determined in accordance with section 317 of the Principal Act as if that section had not been amended by subsection (1).
		Amendment of section 324 of Principal Act
	5. (1) Section 324 (amended by section 18 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 ) of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1):
	“(1) A designated person may at any time—
	(a) revise a determination of a designated person in relation to entitlement to supplementary welfare allowance—
	(i) where it appears to him or her that the determination was erroneous—
	(I) in the light of new evidence or new facts which have been brought to his or her notice since the date on which the determination was made, or
	(II) by reason of some mistake having been made in relation to the law or the facts,
	or
	(ii) where—
	(I) the effect of the determination was to entitle a person to supplementary welfare allowance, and
	(II) it appears to the designated person that there has been any relevant change of circumstances since that determination was made,
	or
	(b) revise the decision of an appeals officer where—
	(i) the effect of the decision of the appeals officer was to entitle a person to supplementary welfare allowance, and
	(ii) it appears to the designated person that there has been any relevant change of circumstances which has come to notice since that decision was given,
	and the provisions of this Part as to appeals apply to a revised determination or a revised decision under this subsection, as the case may be, in the same manner as they apply to an original determination of a designated person.”,
	and
	(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):
	“(3) In subsections (1)(a)(ii)(II) and (1)(b)(ii), the reference to any relevant change of circumstances means any relevant change of circumstances that occurred before, or occurs on or after, the coming into operation of the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013.”.
	(2) Where, before the coming into operation of subsection (1), a request had been made under section 324 of the Principal Act for a revised decision or a revised determination on the grounds that there had been any relevant change of circumstances and the request had not been determined, that request shall be determined in accordance with section 324 of the Principal Act as if that section had not been amended by subsection (1).
		Amendment of Schedule 3 to Principal Act
	6. Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is amended in the manner specified in the Schedule.
PART 3 ...