Social Welfare Act, 1982

Social assistance payments and children's allowances (new rates).

3.—(1) The Principal Act (as amended by the Amendment Act of 1981 and varied by the Social Welfare (Variation of Rates of Payments) Regulations, 1981 ( S.I. No. 312 of 1981 )) is hereby amended by the substitution for the Fourth Schedule to that Act of the Schedule set out in Schedule B to this Act.

(2) Section 139 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) the appropriate amount set out in column (4), (4a), (5) or (5a) of that Part in respect of each qualified child who normally resides with the applicant or recipient.”.

(3) Section 161 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) The rate (in this Chapter referred to as the scheduled rate) of old age pension shall be the weekly rate set out in column (2) of Part I of the Fourth Schedule, increased, where there is a qualified child or there are qualified children, by the appropriate amount set out in column (4), (4a), (5) or (5a) of that Part in respect of each qualified child.”.

(4) Section 178 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) The rate (in this section referred to as the scheduled rate) of widow's (non-contributory) pension shall be the weekly rate set out in column (2) of Part I of the Fourth Schedule, increased, where there is a qualified child or there are qualified children, by the appropriate amount set out in column (4), (4a), (5) or (5a) of that Part in respect of each qualified child who normally resides with the widow.”.

(5) Section 208 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b) of subsection (1):

“(b) the appropriate amount set out in column (4), (4a), (5) or (5a) of that Part in respect of each child dependant.”, and

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) For the purposes of this section, the definition of adult dependant in section 2(1) and columns (4), (4a), (5) and (5a) of Part I of the Fourth Schedule shall be construed as if 'child dependant' and 'child dependants' were substituted for 'qualified child' and 'qualified children' respectively.”.

(6) Section 225 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Subject to this Part and the regulations thereunder, a person who is qualified for a children's allowance shall, so long as he remains so qualified, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas a monthly allowance of the amount set out in column (1) of Part IV of the Fourth Schedule in respect of each of the first five qualified children and, in addition, the amount set out in column (2) of that Part in respect of each qualified child (if any) in excess of five.”.

(7) This section shall come into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance, on the 31st day of March, 1982,

(b) in so far as it relates to old age pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on the 2nd day of April, 1982,

(c) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance, social assistance allowance, single woman's allowance, and children's allowances, on the 1st day of April, 1982, and

(d) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on the 5th day of April, 1982.