Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981
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Notification of increase of means. [1960 MP, s. 16] |
172.—(1) Where— | |
(a) a person is in receipt of old age pension or has made a claim for pension which has not been finally determined, and | ||
(b) (i) the income in cash of the person, or | ||
(ii) the amount of property belonging to or personally used or enjoyed by the person, | ||
has increased since the date of the latest investigation thereof by a social welfare officer or, if no such investigation has taken place, since the date of the making of the claim, the person shall, before the expiration of the period of 3 months after the end of the month in which such increase occurred, give, or cause to be given, to a social welfare officer notification of the increase. | ||
(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or, in case he is dead, his personal representative shall, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Minister that the person was not aware of the increase to which the contravention related, and notwithstanding anything contained in section 166 (3), be liable to pay the Minister on demand— | ||
(a) if, by reason of the contravention, the person was in receipt of old age pension at a time when he was not entitled to receive it, the sums paid to him on foot of the pension during that time, and | ||
(b) if, by reason of the contravention, the person was in receipt of a pension of an amount which was in excess of the amount which he was entitled to receive, such parts of the sums paid to him on foot of the pension as were in excess of the amounts which he was entitled to receive. | ||
(3) Any sum payable by a person to the Minister under this section shall be a debt due by the person to the Minister. | ||
[1979, s. 27] | ||
(4) Where a person has contravened subsection (1) and the Minister is satisfied that there was, in relation to the contravention, no fraudulent intent on the part of the person and that there are no significant resources available to that person, subsections (2) and (3) shall not apply in relation to the increase referred to in subsection (1). |