Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment) (Civil Partnership) Regulations 2011

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 600/2011
• Year: 2011

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 25th November, 2011.

I, JOAN BURTON, Minister for Social Protection, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 4 (adapted by section 28 of the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act 1982 (No. 6 of 1982)) and 295 (2) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26 of 2005), and by section 28 (inserted by section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002 (No. 9 of 2002)) of the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act 1982 (adapted by the Finance (Trans-fer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 ( S.I. No. 418 of 2011 )), with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and Construction.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment) (Civil Partnership) Regulations 2011.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations 1998 to 2008 shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations 1998 to 2011.

Definition.

2. In these Regulations “Principal Regulations” means the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations 1998 ( S.I. No. 188 of 1998 ).

Amendment of Part I of Principal Regulations.

3. Article 3 of the Principal Regulations is amended by—

(a) deleting the definition of “married person”, and

(b) inserting the following definitions:

“ ‘civil partner’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 (1) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ;

‘civil partnership’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 (1) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ;

‘cohabitant’ has the meaning assigned to it in section 2 (1) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ;

‘couple’ means—

(a) a married couple who are living together,

(b) both civil partners of the same civil partnership who are living together, or

(c) both cohabitants;”.

Amount of allowance.

4. Article 7 of the Principal Regulations is amended—

(a) by substituting the following sub-articles for sub-articles (1) and (2) (amended by article 4 of the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations 2008 ( S.I. No. 600 of 2008 )):

“(1) An allowance, in the case of—

(a) a person who is one of a couple whose weekly means do not exceed €436.60, or

(b) any other person whose weekly means do not exceed €230.30,

shall be a weekly amount equal to the amount by which the rent (calculated as a weekly rent) fixed by a Court, or by the Tribunal, or by a rent officer on or after the 25th day of July, 2002 exceeds the rent so calculated payable prior to that date.

(1A) Where the rent, calculated in accordance with sub-article (1), payable prior to the 25th day of July, 2002 was less than €13, the allowance shall be the amount by which the rent so calculated fixed by a Court, or by the Tribunal, or by a rent officer exceeds €13.

(2) An allowance, in the case of persons whose weekly means exceed the amounts specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of sub-article (1), as the case may be, shall be the amount of allowance that would arise if the provisions of sub-article (1) applied, reduced—

(a) in the case of a person who is one of a couple, by 50 cent for each €1 of weekly means in excess of €436.60, but not exceeding €636.60, and by €1 for each €1 of weekly means in excess of €636.60, and

(b)...