S.I. No. 226/1970 - Social Welfare (Old Age (Care) Allowance) Regulations, 1970.

S.I. No. 226 of 1970.

SOCIAL WELFARE (OLD AGE (CARE) ALLOWANCE) REGULATIONS, 1970.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952) and section 21 of the Social Welfare Act, 1970 (No. 12 of 1970), hereby makes the following Regulations:—

PART I. General.

1 Citation.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Old Age (Care) Allowance) Regulations, 1970.

2 Commencement.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of October, 1970.

3 Interpretation.

3. In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires:—

"the Minister" means the Minister for Social Welfare, "the Act of 1952" means the Social Welfare Act, 1952 ,

"the Act of 1968" means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968 (No. 31 of 1968),

"the Act of 1969" means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1969 (No. 19 of 1969),

"the Act of 1970" means the Social Welfare Act, 1970 ,

"allowance" means an old age (care) allowance under section 21 of the Act of 1970,

"the appropriate post office" means the post office at which an allowance is payable in any particular case,

"allowance order" means an order for the payment through the post office of a weekly sum on account of an allowance,

"incapacitated person" means a person who has attained the age of seventy years and is so incapacitated as to require full-time care and attention,

"specified female relative" means a relative specified in article 4.

4 Specified female relatives.

4. A sister, a half-sister, a daughter, a step-daughter, a grand-daughter, a daughter-in-law, and a niece are hereby specified to be relatives for the purposes of section 21 (1) of the Act of 1970. Further conditions.

5 Further conditions.

5. The following conditions are hereby specified for the purposes of section 21 (1) of the Act of 1970 as the conditions to be fulfilled to entitle an incapacitated person to an allowance:—

( a ) the incapacitated person shall be living alone, but, for the purpose of this paragraph, the residence of the specified female relative, children under the age of 18 and persons aged 18 or over who are mentally or physically incapacitated shall be disregarded;

( b ) the incapacitated person shall be residing in the State and shall have resided in the State for an aggregate period of not less than fifteen years; if the person is an Irish citizen, not less than five years of that period shall have been subsequent to his attaining the age of fifty years and, if the person is not an Irish citizen, five years of that period shall have been a continuous period ending immediately before the date of the claim for the allowance;

( c ) the specified female relative shall not be engaged in employment outside the home of the incapacitated person;

( d ) the specified female relative shall not be in receipt of or entitled to receive—

(i) unemployment benefit, unemployment assistance, disability benefit, maternity allowance, injury benefit, unemployability supplement, death benefit by way of widow's pension or death benefit by way of parent's pension at the higher rate under the Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966 (No. 16 of 1966), or

(ii) old age pension, old age (contributory) pension, invalidity pension, retirement pension, or widow's (contributory) pension, or

(iii) widow's (non-contributory) pension or deserted wife's allowance where such pension or allowance is or would be equal to or greater than old age (care) allowance;

( e ) the incapacitated person shall not be in receipt of or entitled to receive an old age pension, old age (contributory) pension, widow's (contributory) pension or a payment in respect of need for constant attendance under the Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966 ;

( f ) the specified female relative shall not be a married woman wholly or mainly maintained by her husband;

( g ) not more than one allowance shall be paid in respect of any specified female relative but no allowance shall be paid in respect of any such relative in respect of whom an increase of pension is payable under subsection (4) (inserted by the Act of 1968) of section 26 of subsection (5) (substituted by the Act of 1969) of section 77 of the Act of 1952.

6 Application of Act of 1952.

6. (1) The following provisions of the Act of 1952 shall apply to an allowance:— Sections 2 (2), 33, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57 and 63.

(2) In the application of the said provisions—

( a ) any reference to "benefit" shall be construed as including an allowance,

( b ) any reference to the Act of 1952 shall be construed as including section 21 of the Act of 1970, and

( c ) any reference to "the Fund" shall be construed as a reference to the Minister.

(3) Section 19 of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960 (No. 25 of 1960) shall apply to an allowance as if the allowance were a pension under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1970.

PART II. Claims and Payments.

7 Claims to be made to the Minister

7. Every claim for an allowance shall be made to the Minister in the form for the time being approved by him or in such other manner as the Minister may accept as sufficient in the circumstances of any particular case.

8 Information to be given when making a claim for allowance

8. Every person who makes a claim for an allowance shall furnish such certificates, documents, information and evidence for the purpose of deciding the claim as may be required by the Minister and, if so required, shall for that purpose attend at such office or place as the Minister may direct.

9 Dating of claim or notice.

9. For the purpose of these Regulations any claim or notice made or sent by post shall be deemed to have been made or given on the day on which it was posted.

10 Time and manner of payment of allowance

10. (1) An allowance shall be paid weekly in advance on the Thursday of each week by means of an allowance order entitled "Social Assistance Allowance" payable to the incapacitated person, at such post office as the Minister, after enquiry from the incapacitated person, may from time to time determine.

(2) Where an allowance is payable the Minister shall—

( a ) cause arrangements to be made whereby, on furnishing such evidence as to identify and such other particulars as may be required, an incapacitated person may obtain, either through the postmaster of the appropriate post office, or otherwise, a book of allowance orders, and

( b ) notify the incapacitated person of the arrangements so made.

(3) The Minister shall arrange for the issue to every person entitled to an allowance, whether by the postmaster at the appropriate post office or otherwise, of a fresh book of allowance orders on the expiration of the previous book.

(4) Where the day from which payment of an allowance would commence is a day of the week other than a Thursday, payment of the allowence shall commence only from the next Thursday.

(5) Where an allowance would cease to be payable from a day of the week other than Thursday, the allowance shall continue to be payable in respect of the days of the week up to but not including the next Thursday.

(6) A book of allowance orders issued to any person shall remain the property of the Minister.

(7) Any person having a book of allowance orders or any unpaid allowance order shall, on the termination of the allowance to which such book or order relates or when requested by the Minister, deliver such book or order to the Minister or to such person as he may direct.

(8) Notwithstanding anything contained in this article, the Minister may in any particular case or class of case or in all cases arrange for the payment of an allowance otherwise than weekly in advance or otherwise than by means of allowance orders payable to the incapacitated person.

11 Date from which allowance is payable.

11. An allowance shall not be paid in any case from a date earlier than the date on which the claim to the allowance was made.

12 Extinguishment of right to sums payable by way of allowance which are not obtained within prescribed time.

12. The right to any sum payable by way of allowance shall be extinguished where payment thereof is not obtained within three months or, where in any particular case the Minister so approves, six months from the date on which that sum is payable under Article 10 of these Regulations.

13 Information be given when obtaining payment of allowance.

13. Every person to whom an allowance is payable shall furnish in such manner and at such time as the Minister may determine such certificates and other documents and such information affecting the right to such allowance or to the receipt thereof as the Minister may Minister may require and in particular shall notify the Minister of any change of circumstances which such person might reasonably be expected to know might affect the right to the allowance, or to the receipt thereof, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the occurrence thereof.

14 Person unable to act.

14. (1) Where an incapacitated person is unable for the time being to act, the Minister may appoint some other person to exercise on behalf of such incapacitated person any right or power which such incapacitated person may be entitled to exercise in relation to an allowance.

(2) The following provisions shall apply to every appointment made by the Minister under this article of a person to act on behalf of an incapacitated person:—

(a) the Minister may at any time revoke the appointment,

(b) the person appointed may resign on giving to the Minister one month's notice of his intention to do so,

(c) the appointment shall terminate on the day on which the Minister receives notice that a Committee of the estate of the incapacitated person has been appointed.

(3) A person appointed under this article to act for an incapacitated person may exercise on behalf of such incapacitated person any right or power which such incapacitated person may be entitled to exercise in relation to an allowance and may receive and deal with any sum payable by way of an allowance on behalf of such incapacitated person.

(4) Anything required to be done to an incapacitated person in relation to an allowance may be done as respects an incapacitated person who is unable to act to a person appointed under this article to act for such incapacitated person.

(5) The receipt of a person appointed under this article to act for an incapacitated person shall be a good discharge to the Minister for any sums paid to such person on behalf of the incapacitated person.

15 Payment on death.

15. (1) On the death of an incapacitated person the Minister may allow such person as he may think fit to proceed with or to make a claim for an allowance in the name of such incapacitated person.

(2) On the death of an incapacitated person, any sum payable in respect of an allowance may be paid or distributed by the Minister without probate or other proof of title of the personal representative of the deceased as follows:—

(a) where the incapacitated person died leaving a will or other testamentary writing, the said sum may be paid or distributed to or among such of the persons appearing to be beneficially entitled thereto under the said will or testamentary writing as the Minister thinks proper and that to the exclusion of all others, without prejudice to any remedy which such others may have for recovery of the sum so paid or distributed as aforesaid against the person or persons receiving that sum;

(b) where the incapacitated person died intestate, the said sum may be paid or distributed to or among such persons as appear to the Minister to be beneficially entitled thereto, whether as next-of-kin or otherwise according to law or as creditors (including any person entitled to be paid or repaid the funeral expenses of the incapacitated person) or to or among such of the said persons as the Minister thinks fit and that to the exclusions of all others;

(c) if the incapacitated person or any child of his is illegitimate, any person who in the opinion of the Minister would have been entitled to the said sum if the incapacitated person or such child had been legitimate may, for the purposes of the preceding paragraph, be treated as a person beneficially entitled thereto.

(3) The receipt of any person of the age of sixteen years or upwards for any sum paid in accordance with this article shall be a good discharge to the Minister for the sum so paid.

(4) Where the Minister is satisfied that any sum or part thereof payable under this article is needed for the benefit of any person under the age of sixteen, he may obtain a good discharge therefor by paying the sum or part thereof to a person over that age who satisfies the Minister that he will apply the sum so paid for the benefit of the person under the age of sixteen.

(5) The Minister upon making any payment in accordance with this article shall be discharged from all liability in respect of any sum or sums so paid.

16 Offences.

16. A person who fails to comply with sub-article (7) of article 10 or article 13 of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offense and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for each day on which the offence is continued.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this 29th

day of September, 1970.

JOSEPH BRENNAN,

Minister for Social Welfare.

The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations so far as they relate to the payment of allowances through the post offices.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs this

29th day of September, 1970.

L. Ó RÉAGÁIN.

Assistant Secretary,

Department of Posts and Telegraphs.

A person authorised by the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs

pursuant to section 15 of the Ministers and Secretaries

Act 1924 to authenticate the Seal of the said Minister.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

Section 21 of the Social Welfare Act, 1970 , makes provision for the payment, subject to the fulfillment of conditions to be specified by Regulations, of old age (care) allowances to incapacitated persons over 70, whose yearly means, reckoned as for old age pension, do not exceed £299.15.0. and with whom a female relative (also to be specified by Regulations) is residing for the purpose of providing full-time care and attention. The Section also provides for the making of Regulations which may apply to old age (care) allowances (with or without modification) existing provisions of, or made under, the Social Welfare Acts.

These Regulations accordingly specify the female relatives who shall be providing the care and attention for the purposes of Section 21 together with conditions of entitlement similar to conditions already applicable in relation to the statutory increase of pensions in respect of a female relative who is providing an incapacitated old age pensioner (or widow pensioner over 70) with full-time care and attention. The Regulations also apply to old age (care) allowances appropriate existing provisions relating to determination of age, inalienability of benefit, procedure for decisions and appeals, powers of inspectors, issue of reduced-rate birth certificates, exemption of documents from stamp duty, legal proceedings, prohibition of alienation of pension books and treating of old age (care) allowances as paid on account of old age (contributory) pension. Provisions, similar to existing provisions relating to pensions and benefits, regarding the manner of making claims, method of payment, time within which payment shall be obtained, information to be given when claiming and obtaining payment with penalty for non-observance and payment on death or inability of the beneficiary to act, are also included.