S.I. No. 221/1970 - Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1970.

S.I. No. 221 of 1970.

SOCIAL WELFARE (OVERLAPPING BENEFITS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1970.

The Minister for Social Welfare in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3 , 32 and 75 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952) including the said sections as extended and applied by sections 21 and 22 of the Social Welfare Act, 1970 (No. 12 of 1970) hereby makes the following Regulations:—

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1970.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1953 to 1969, may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1953 to 1970.

2. In these Regulations—

" the Principal Regulations " means the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1953 ( S.I. No. 14 of 1953 );

" the Regulations of 1960 " means the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1960 ( S.I. No. 278 of 1960 );

" the Regulations of 1967 " means the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1967 ( S.I. No. 91 of 1967 ).

3. Article 8 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (a) (inserted by the Regulations of 1967) of sub-article (1) after " an increase under subsection (1) of section 27 of the Act " of " (other than an increase of invalidity pension or retirement pension) ".

4. Article 11 of the Principal Regulations (as amended by the Regulations of 1967 and the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1969 (No. 262 of 1969) is hereby further amended by the insertion before " a widow's (contributory) pension " where those words occur of " a deserted wife's allowance,".

5. Article 12 of the Principal Regulations (as amended by the Regulations of 1960 and the Regulations of 1967) is hereby amended by the substitution therefor of the following:—

" 12 (1) Where—

( a ) in respect of any period a public assistance authority has granted home assistance to or on account of a person who, though entitled to a benefit, pension or allowance to which this article applies is not at that time receiving payments on account thereof, and

( b ) such home assistance is in excess of the amount which would have been granted to such person if such person had been receiving payment on account of the said benefit, pension or allowance, and

( c ) any sum (in this article referred to as the arrears) accruing in respect of any part of the said period on account of the said benefit, pension or allowance becomes payable to such person, and

( d ) such public assistance authority has, before the arrears are paid to such person, certified to the Minister the amount so paid by such public assistance authority in excess in respect of the said period,

the Minister may pay to the public assistance authority out of the arrears an amount not exceeding the amount of such excess.

(2) This article applies to—

( a ) unemployment benefit,

( b ) disability benefit,

( c ) widow's (contributory) pension or an increase thereof under section 27 (2) of the Act in respect of a qualified child,

( d ) old age (contributory) pension,

( e ) invalidity pension,

( f ) retirement pension,

( g ) benefit under section 26 (3) of the Act,

( h ) death benefit by way of widow's pension, widower's pension, parent's pension or orphan's pension,

( i ) deserted wife's allowance or an increase thereof in respect of a qualified child,

( j ) orphan's (contributory) allowance,

( k ) an increase under section 19 of the Act of 1966 in respect of a child qualified for the purposes of that Act."

6. Article 14 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution for sub-article (6) of the following—

"(6) This article shall not apply to invalidity pension, retirement pension, old age (contributory) pension (including benefit under subsection (3) of section 26 of the Act), occupational injuries benefit, widow's (contributory) pension or orphan's (contributory) allowance or any disability benefit which is payable in respect of any day on or after the 1st May, 1967.".

7. Article 15 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by—

( a ) the addition to sub-article (1) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1961 ( S.I. No. 270 of 1961 )) of the following sub-paragraph—

"(d) he shall not be entitled to invalidity pension." and

( b ) the insertion in sub-article (3) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1954 ( S.I. No. 155 of 1954 ) and amended by the Regulations of 1960) after " such a pension or allowance " of " (not being invalidity pension).".

8. Article 15A of the Principal Regulations (inserted by the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1955 ( S.I. No. 142 of 1955 )) is hereby amended by the insertion in sub-article (1) of "(not being invalidity pension)" after "before the receipt of such a pension".

9. Article 16 of the Principal Regulations (inserted by the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1961 ( S.I. No. 270 of 1961 )) is hereby amended by the insertion after " of such pension " of " (not being invalidity pension) ".

10. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the insertion of the following article after article 17 thereof:—

" 17A. Where an insured person has received or recovered or is entitled to receive or recover, whether from his employer or any other person, any compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Acts, or any scheme certified thereunder, in respect of any injury or disease, invalidity pension or any increase thereof shall not be paid to such person in respect of such injury or disease.".

11. Article 20 of the Principal Regulations (inserted by the Regulations of 1960) is hereby deleted and the following article is substituted therefor—

"20. An increase of benefit in respect of a wife under subsections (1) (a), (2) (a), (5) (a) (i) or (6) (a) of section 26 of the Act and an increase of benefit in respect of her husband under subsections (1) (b), (2) (b), (5) (a) (ii) or (6) (b) of section 26 of the Act shall not be payable for the same period.".

12. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the addition thereto of the following articles—

" 28. Where, but for this article, invalidity pension, retirement pension or an increase of either pension under section 26 of the Act or an increase of either pension under section 27 of the Act would be payable to or in respect of a person in respect of any period and any one of the following would also be payable to or in respect of that person in respect of the same period—

( a ) unemployment benefit,

( b ) disability benefit,

( c ) maternity allowance,

( d ) widow's (contributory) pension,

( e ) old age (contributory) pension,

( f ) invalidity pension,

( g ) retirement pension,

( h ) increase under sections 26 or 27 of the Act, of any of the payments specified at (a), (b), (e), (f) and (g) above.

( i ) benefit under section 26 (3) of the Act,

( j ) death benefit by way of orphan's pension, widow's pension or widower's pension or parent's pension at the higher rate under the Act of 1966 or an increase of pension under section 19 of that Act,

( k ) injury benefit or an increase of that benefit or an increase of disablement pension under section 11 of the Act of 1966,

( l ) unemployability supplement,

( m ) pension under the Old Age Pensions Acts including an increase of old age pension for a qualified child under section 5 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1964 (No. 28 of 1964),

( n ) widow's (non-contributory) pension or child's (non-contributory) allowance under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts,

( o ) unemployment assistance or an increase thereof in respect of an adult dependant or a child dependant under the Unemployment Assistance Acts,

( p ) orphan's (contributory) allowance,

( q ) orphan's (non-contributory) pension under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts,

either the invalidity pension, retirement pension or the increase thereof under section 26 or section 27 of the Act (as the case may be) or the relevant pension, benefit, assistance or allowance or increase thereof specified at (a) to (q) above shall be payable to or in respect of that person in respect of that period but not both.

29. (1) Subject to sub-article (2) of this article a death grant shall not be payable on the death of a person in respect of whose death, death benefit under section 22 of the Act of 1966 is also payable.

(2) Where but for the provisions of sub-article (1) of this article a death grant would be payable at a rate exceeding the rate of death benefit payable under section 22 of the Act of 1966 in respect of the same death, the difference between the said rates shall be payable by way of death grant.

30. Where a woman would, but for this article, be entitled in respect of any period to a deserted wife's allowance, (including an increase in respect of a qualified child or qualified children) under section 22 of the Social Welfare Act, 1970 and to unemployment assistance (including an increase in respect of a child dependant or child dependants) under the Unemployment Assistance Acts, the allowance only shall be payable unless the rate of assistance is greater than the rate of allowance payable in the case in which event unemployment assistance only shall be payable.

31. In sub-articles (1), (1A), (3), (5), (5A) and (6) of article 4, article 10, sub-article (2) of article 24, articles 26 and 28 of these Regulations a reference to—

( a ) a widow's (non-contributory) pension under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts shall be construed as including a deserted wife's allowance under section 22 of the Social Welfare Act, 1970 ;

( b ) a widow in receipt of or entitled to such a widow's (non-contributory) pension shall be construed as including a woman in receipt of or entitled to a deserted wife's allowance;

( c ) a child's (non-contributory) allowance under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts shall be construed as including an increase of deserted wife's allowance in respect of a qualified child; and

( d ) a widow in receipt of or entitled to such a child's (non-contributory) allowance shall be construed as including a woman in receipt of or entitled to an increase of deserted wife's allowance in respect of a qualified child.

32. Where a person would but for this article be entitled in respect of any period to an increase of unemployment benefit or disability benefit under section 26 of the Act and to an increase of that benefit under section 27 (1) of the Act in respect of the same person, only one such increase shall be payable.

33. Where a person would but for this article be entitled in respect of any period to an increase in respect of an adult dependant under the Unemployment Assistance Acts and to an increase in respect of a child dependant under the said Acts in respect of the same person, only one such increase shall be payable.".

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this

29th day of September, 1970.

JOSEPH BRENNAN,

Minister for Social Welfare.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Social Welfare Act 1970 provides, inter alia, for the introduction from 1st October, 1970, of social insurance schemes of death grants, invalidity pensions and retirement pension and for a social assistance scheme of allowances for deserted wives. The Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1953 to 1969, which deal with cases where more than one payment would otherwise be due to a person, are amended and extended by these Regulations to embrace the new schemes. These Regulations provide that where invalidity pension or retirement pension would be payable in respect of a person who would otherwise at the same time be entitled to any of a number of specified payments, then either the invalidity or retirement pension or the specified payment may be paid but not both. The specified payments include most of the periodical payments made under the schemes operated by the Department of Social Welfare.

The Regulations provide that persons receiving certain army pensions or Workmen's Compensation shall not be entitled to receive invalidity pension and that death grant will not normally be payable where death benefit by way of a grant for funeral expenses is payable under the scheme of occupational injuries benefit. The Regulations provide that for the purposes of the relevant overlapping provisions, a woman receiving deserted wife's allowance shall be treated as a widow receiving non-contributory widow's pension. Provision is made for the return, in certain circumstances, to a public assistance authority of its additional expenditure on home assistance in cases where a person who, although entitled to invalidity pension, retirement pension or deserted wife's allowance in respect of a period was not, during that period, receiving those payments and, as a result, was receiving home assistance at an enhanced rate and for the reduction of the amount of the arrears of pension or allowance payable by the amount returned to the public assistance authority.

The Regulations also provide, consequent on the raising in the Social Welfare Act, 1970 , of the age limit from 16 to 18 years for qualified children in respect of whom increases of benefit and assistance may be paid, that an increase of disability benefit, unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance in respect of a person aged 16 to 18 years as an adult dependant and a further increase in respect of that person as a qualified child may not be paid at the same time.