S.I. No. 190/1996 - Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1996

S.I. No. 190 of 1996.

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED SUPPLEMENTARY WELFARE ALLOWANCE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1996

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 4 (as amended by section 37 of the Social Welfare Act, 1996 (No. 7 of 1996)), 179 and 188 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation Act), 1993 (No. 27 of 1993) and Rule 1(1) (m) (as inserted by section 37 of the Social Welfare Act, 1996 ) of the Third Schedule to that Act, hereby makes the following Regulations:

1 Citation and construction.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1996.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 382 of 1995 ) shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Allowance) Regulations, 1995 and 1996.

2 Interpretation.

2. In these Regulations "the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Allowance) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 382 of 1995 ).

3 Amendment of article 3 of Principal Regulations

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

(a) the substitution for the definition of "loan" of the following definition:

"'loan' means any loan or advance or any other arrangement by virtue of which interest is paid or payable to a bank, building society, credit union, housing authority or the Housing Finance Agency plc;", and

(b) the insertion after the definition of "qualified dietician" of the following definition:

"'registered medical practitioner' means a person whose name is entered on the General Register of Medical Practitioners established under section 26 of the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978 (No. 4 of 1978);".

4 Amount of supplement.

4. (1) The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the substitution for article 12 of the following article:

"12. (1) Subject to these Regulations, the amount of a supplement payable under this Part to a claimant in respect of a week shall be the difference between his weekly needs less £6 and his weekly means, less the weekly amount of rent or mortgage interest, as the case may be, payable by him:

Provided that the amount so payable shall not exceed such amount as the health board considers reasonable to meet the residential needs of the claimant.

(2) (a) Where a claimant or his spouse is in receipt of carer's allowance under Chapter 10 of Part III of the Principal Act, the amount by which the said allowance exceeds the amount of supplementary welfare allowance set out in column (3) at reference 8 of the Fourth Schedule to the Principal Act shall be disregarded in the assessment of means for the purpose of sub-article (1).

(b) in the case of a person, not being one of a couple, who is in receipt of carer's allowance under Chapter 10 of Part III of the Principal Act, the amount by which the said allowance exceeds the amount of supplementary welfare allowance set out in column (2) at reference 8 of the Fourth Schedule to the Principal Act shall be disregarded in the assessment of means for the purpose of sub-article (1).

(3) Where a person, other than an adult dependant or a child dependant of the claimant, resides with the claimant other than as a subtenant, the health board shall reduce the amount of the supplement payable, by such amount, which in the opinion of the health board, is reasonably attributable to that other person.

(4) In the case of a person to whom article 6(7) of the Social Welfare (Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations, 1977 to 1994 applied on commencement of the Principal Regulations, sub-article (1) shall be construed as if '£4.50' were substituted for '£6.00'.".

5 Entitlement to diet supplement.

5. (1) Article 15(2)(b) of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution for subparagraph (ix) of the following subparagraphs:

"(ix) high protein, low salt diet, (x) modified protein, high calorie."

(2) Sub-article (3) of article 15 of the Principal Regulations is hereby substituted by the following sub-article:

"(3) It shall be a condition of any claimant's entitlement to a supplement under sub-article (1) that:

(a) (i) it is certified by a registered medical practitioner, in his capacity as a hospital consultant or a hospital registrar, that the claimant or any adult or child dependant of his has been prescribed a diet specified for the purposes of this article by virtue of a specified medical condition, or

(ii) it is specified by a registered medical practitioner that the claimant or any adult dependant or child dependant (of or over the age of 18 years) of his has been prescribed a diet specified in sub-article (2) (a) (i), (ii) or (vii) in respect of a specified medical condition, and

(b) the nature and duration of the diet which has been prescribed is verified by the said registered medical practitioner or by a qualified dietitian.".

6 Payment to appointed persons.

6. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the insertion after article 28 of the following article:

"Payment to appointed person living together with applicant.

28A. In the case of a claimant or beneficiary who is entitled to receive an increase of supplementary welfare allowance in respect of his spouse as an adult dependant, the health board may, where the board considers that the circumstances so warrant, appoint the adult dependant to receive and deal with on behalf of the claimant or beneficiary so much of the allowance as the board considers reasonable:

Provided that in no case shall the amount to be received and dealt with as aforesaid exceed the total amount payable by virtue of section 178(1) b of the Principal Act, together with —

(a) one-half of the allowance as is payable by virtue of sections 178(1) and 178 (1) (a), and

(b) the amount of supplement, if any, as is payable under Parts III or IV.".

7 Assessment of means.

7. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the insertion after article 32 of the following article:

" Earnings disregard— supplementary welfare allowance

33. In assessing the means of a person for the purposes of supplementary welfare allowance, the amount to be disregarded in respect of earnings received by that person from employment of a rehabilitative nature shall be the first £34.10 of such weekly earnings. ".

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare

this 10th day of June, 1996.

PROINSIAS DE ROSSA

Minister for Social Welfare

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance

this 10th day of June, 1996.

RUAIRI QUINN

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations provide that where one of a couple is a recipient of Carer's Allowance, the amount of Carer's Allowance in excess of the maximum weekly increase of Supplementary Welfare Allowance payable in respect of an adult dependant will be disregarded in the assessment of means for the purposes of determining entitlement to rent and mortgage interest supplements. In the case of a recipient of Carer's Allowance who is not one of a couple, the amount of Carer's Allowance to be disregarded will be the amount of the weekly rate of Carer's Allowance which exceeds the maximum personal rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

In addition, the Regulations also exercise powers provided for in the Social Welfare Act, 1996 to disregard the first £34.10 of weekly earnings from employment of a rehabilitative nature in determining entitlement to SWA. The Regulations also provide for minor amendments to existing provisions relating to Diet Supplements payable under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.