Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2008

• Jurisdiction: Ireland

Number 22 of 2008
SOCIAL WELFARE (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 2008
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART 1
PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL
Section
1. Short title, construction, collective citations and commencement.
2. Definitions.
PART 2
AMENDMENTS TO SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS
3. Social insurance benefits (new rates).
4. Social assistance payments (new rates).
5. Family income supplement (new weekly rates).
6. Employment contributions (amendment to earnings limits and ceiling).
7. Optional contributions (amendment to income ceiling).
8. Reckonable income — amendment to definition.
9. Children detention school — definition.
10. Registered medical practitioner — amendment.
11. Widowed parent grant — amendment to definition.
12. Pre-retirement allowance.
13. One-parent family payment — entitlement.
14. Supplementary welfare allowance — amendments.
15. Illness benefit — amendment.
16. Health and safety benefit — amendment.
17. Jobseeker’s benefit — linked claims.
18. Jobseeker’s benefit — amendment.
19. Domiciliary care allowance.
20. Child benefit — amendment.
21. Early childcare supplement — amendment.
22. Weekly family income — amendment to definition.
23. Blind welfare allowance — amendment.
PART 3
MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS TO OTHER ACTS
24. Amendments to Pensions Act 1990.
25. Amendment to Civil Registration Act 2004.
PART 4
MONEY ADVICE AND BUDGETING SERVICE
26. Definition.
27. Amendments to section 2 of Act of 2000.
28. Amendments to section 7 of Act of 2000.
29. Transfer by Minister of certain rights and liabilities.
PART 5
DISSOLUTION OF COMBAT POVERTY AGENCY
30. Definition.
31. Dissolution of Agency.
32. Transfer of rights and liabilities.
33. Transfer of certain property.
34. Final accounts.
35. Pending legal proceedings.
36. Transfer of employees.
37. Expenses.
38. Repeal.
SCHEDULE 1
SCHEDULE 2
Acts Referred to
Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005 Carer’s Leave Act 2001 2001, No. 19 Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Act 2004 2004, No. 21 Children Act 2001 2001, No. 24 Citizens Information Act 2007 2007, No. 2 Citizens Information Acts 2000 and 2007 Civil Registration Act 2004 2004, No. 3 Civil Registration Acts 2004 and 2005 Civil Service Regulation Acts 1956 to 2005 Combat Poverty Agency Act 1986 1986, No. 14 Comhairle Act 2000 2000, No. 1 Consumer Credit Act 1995 1995, No. 24 Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 to 2001 Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004 Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005 Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 1997, No. 20 Parental Leave Acts 1998 and 2006 Pensions Act 1990 1990, No. 25 Pensions Acts 1990 to 2008 Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 2003, No. 29 Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 2001, No. 45 Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 2004, No. 33 Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2007 Social Welfare Act 2007 2007, No. 40 Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 2007, No. 8 Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 2008, No. 2 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 2005, No. 26 Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 2006, No. 5 Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 and 2001 Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007
Number 22 of 2008
SOCIAL WELFARE (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 2008
AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, THE PENSIONS ACT 1990 AND THE COMHAIRLE ACT 2000, TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE FUNCTIONS OF THE CITIZENS INFORMATION BOARD, TO AMEND THE CIVIL REGISTRATION ACT 2004, TO PROVIDE FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF THE COMBAT POVERTY AGENCY AND THE TRANSFER OF ITS ASSETS, LIABILITIES AND EMPLOYEES TO THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL AND FAMILY AFFAIRS, TO REPEAL THE COMBAT POVERTY AGENCY ACT 1986 AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS.
[17th December, 2008]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART 1 PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL
	Short title, construction, collective citations and commencement.	1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008.
	(2) The Social Welfare Acts and Parts 1 and 2 shall be read together as one.
	(3) The Civil Registration Acts 2004 and 2005 and section 25 may be cited together as the Civil Registration Acts 2004 to 2008.
	(4) The Pensions Acts 1990 to 2008 and section 24 may be cited together as the Pensions Acts 1990 to 2008.
	(5) The Citizens Information Acts 2000 and 2007 and Part 4 may be cited together as the Citizens Information Acts 2000 to 2008.
	(6) Sections 8 , 22 , 24 , 26 to 29 and Part 5 shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.
	Definitions.	2.— In this Act—
	“ Act of 2006 ” means the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 ;
	“ Act of 2007 ” means the Social Welfare Act 2007 ;
	“ Act of 2008 ” means the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 ;
	“ Minister ” means the Minister for Social and Family Affairs;
	“ Principal Act ” means the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 .
PART 2 AMENDMENTS TO SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS
	Social insurance benefits (new rates).	3.— (1) Schedule 2 to the Principal Act (as amended by section 2(1) of the Act of 2007) is amended by substituting the Parts set out in Schedule 1 for Parts 1 to 4 of the said Schedule 2.
	(2) This section comes into operation—
	(a) in so far as it relates to jobseeker’s benefit, on 25 December 2008,
	(b) in so far as it relates to illness benefit, health and safety benefit, injury benefit and disablement gratuity, on 29 December 2008,
	(c) in so far as it relates to carer’s benefit, State pension (transition), invalidity pension and a payment referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of “relevant payment” in section 178 of the Principal Act, on 1 January 2009, and
	(d) in so far as it relates to disablement pension, death benefit under section 81, 82 or 83 of the Principal Act, State pension (contributory), widow’s (contributory) pension, widower’s (contributory) pension and guardian’s payment (contributory), on 2 January 2009.
	Social assistance payments (new rates).	4.— (1) Schedule 4 to the Principal Act (as amended by section 3(1) of the Act of 2007) is amended by substituting the Parts set out in Schedule 2 for Parts 1 to 3 of the said Schedule 4.
	(2) This section comes into operation—
	(a) in so far as it relates to jobseeker’s allowance, pre-retirement allowance and farm assist, on 24 December 2008,
	(b) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on 29 December 2008,
	(c) in so far as it relates to disability allowance, on 31 December 2008,
	(d) in so far as it relates to one-parent family payment (other than where payable in respect of a widow or widower), carer’s allowance and a payment referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of “relevant payment” in section 178 of the Principal Act, on 1 January 2009, and
	(e) in so far as it relates to State pension (non-contributory), blind pension, widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension, one-parent family payment payable in respect of a widow or widower and guardian’s payment (non-contributory), on 2 January 2009.
	Family income supplement (new weekly rates).	5.— (1) The following section is substituted for section 228 (as amended by section 4(1) of the Act of 2007) of the Principal Act:
	“228.— 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, €500,
	(b) in the case of a family which includes 2 children, €590,
	(c) in the case of a family which includes 3 children, €685,
	(d) in the case of a family which includes 4 children, €800,
	(e) in the case of a family which includes 5 children, €920,
	(f) in the case of a family which includes 6 children, €1,030,
	(g) in the case of a family which includes 7 children, €1,160, or
	(h) in the case of a family which includes 8 or more children, €1,250.”.
	(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2009.
	Employment contributions (amendment to earnings limits and ceiling).	6.— (1) Section 13(2) (as amended by section 5(1) of the Act of 2007) of the Principal Act is amended in paragraph (c) by substituting “€52,000” for “€50,700”.
	(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2009.
	Optional contributions (amendment to income ceiling).	7.— (1) Section 29(1)(b) (as amended by section 6(1) of the Act of 2007) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “€52,000” for “€50,700”.
	(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2009.
	Reckonable income — amendment to definition.	8.— Section 2(1) (as amended by section 5 of the Act of 2006) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (a) of the definition of “ reckonable income ”:
	“(a) sections 140, 195, 216C, 231, 232 and 233 of the Act of 1997, or”.
	Children detention school — definition.	9.— The Principal Act is amended—
	(a) in section 2(1), by inserting the following definition:
	“ ‘children detention school’ means a children detention school within the meaning of the Children Act 2001 ;”,
	(b) in...