S.I. No. 161/1985 - Social Welfare (Special Provisions For Volunteer Workers) Regulations, 1985.

S.I. No. 161 of 1985.

SOCIAL WELFARE (SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR VOLUNTEER WORKERS) REGULATIONS, 1985.

The Minister for Social Welfare in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 2 (4), 3 , 14 , 41 and 110 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 (No. 1 of 1981) and by section 56 of that Act (as amended by section 14 of the Social Welfare Act, 1985 (No. 5 of 1985)) hereby makes the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social welfare (Special Provisions for Volunteer Workers) Regulations, 1985.

(2) In these Regulations—

"the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Contributions) Regulations, 1953 ( S.I. No. 5 of 1953 );

"the Regulations of 1979" means the Social Welfare (Modifications of Insurance) Regulations, 1979 ( S.I. No. 87 of 1979 );

"the Minister" means the Minister for Social Welfare;

"relevant date" and "relevant contribution year" have the same meanings as in article 10 of the Social Welfare (Treatment Benefit) Regulations, 1954 ( S.I. No. 156 of 1954 );

"a developing country" is any country which the Minister, having regard to the countries so designated by the United Nations Organisation, the World Bank and the International Labour Organisation and after consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, may determine, for the purposes of these Regulations, to be a developing country;

"a non-governmental agency" is any organisation which has as one of its functions the promotion of relief and development in developing countries through the sponsoring or aiding of projects involving the employment of volunteer development workers in those countries.

(3) These Regulations may be construed as one with the Social Welfare (Contributions) Regulations, 1953 to 1984, the Social Welfare (Treatment Benefit) Regulations, 1954 to 1980, the Social Welfare (Persons Treated as Employers) Regulations, 1953 to 1975 and the Social Welfare (Modifications of Insurance) Regulations, 1979 to 1984.

2. For the purposes of these Regulations, a volunteer development worker is a person who is employed temporarily outside the State in a developing country and has secured such employment either—

( a ) by or through the Agency for Personal Services Overseas or by or through a non-governmental agency in the State, or

( b ) by or through a governmental or non-governmental agency in any Member State of the European Economic Community other than the State, or

( c ) directly with the Government of a developing country

and who is employed by any of the aforesaid agencies or by the Government of the developing country or by both under conditions of remuneration similar to local conditions applying in the said country and who in the cases referred to at sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) was resident in the State immediately prior to taking up such employment.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 13C of the Principal Regulations (as inserted therein by the Social welfare (Contributions) (Amendment) Regulations, 1961 ( S.I. No. 139 of 1961 )), the Minister may make exception from liability to pay employment contributions which would otherwise be payable by virtue of that article, in respect of the employment of volunteer development workers specified in sub-paragraph (a) of article 2 of these Regulations.

4. Subject to the Principal Regulations and articles 5 and 6, a contribution shall be credited to an insured person who is a volunteer development worker, for any contribution week during the whole or part of which he is employed as such in a developing country, and also for any contribution week during the whole or part of which he is engaged in preparatory training in the State prior to taking up employment in a developing country.

5. (1) Contributions shall be credited to a person who is or was a volunteer development worker for any contribution week during the whole or part of which he was employed as such in a developing country in the contribution years which commenced on the 6th day of April, 1983 or the 6th day of April, 1984.

(2) Contributions credited by virtue of this article shall not reckon for the purposes of any benefit or payment in respect of any period before the coming into operation of these Regulations.

(3) Contributions credited by virtue of these Regulations to a volunteer development worker who immediately prior to taking up employment in a developing country was a person to whom article 7 of the Regulations of 1979 applied, shall not be taken into account in relation to disability benefit, treatment benefit, maternity allowance or invalidity pension in respect of any period during which such a worker is in an employment to which the said article 7 applies at any time after the termination of his employment as a volunteer development worker.

6. (1) A contribution shall only be credited to an insured person in accordance with the provisions of articles 4 and 5 where an employment contribution, other than a contribution under section 65 (2) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 , is not payable in respect of him or a contribution in respect of duly notified incapacity for work is not credited to him for that week.

(2) Contributions shall only be credited to an insured person under the provisions of these Regulations for such period or aggregate of periods as does not exceed 5 years.

7. The contribution conditions to be satisfied by a volunteer development worker for treatment benefit in respect of any claim made in the benefit year in which he returns to the State from a developing country or in the next succeeding benefit year shall be—

( a ) that he has qualifying contributions paid in respect of not less than 26 contribution weeks in the period from his entry into insurance to the relevant date, and

( b ) that he has qualifying paid or credited contributions in respect of not less than 26 contribution weeks in the relevant contribution year.

8. In relation to employment being insurable employment as a volunteer development worker to whom sub-paragraph (a) of article 2 of these Regulations refers, the Agency for Personal Services Overseas shall, for the purposes of the Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1985, be treated as the employer of the employed contributor employed in that employment.

9. Article 6 (1) (c) of the Regulations of 1979 is hereby amended by the insertion after "( S.I. No. 5 of 1953 )" of the words "or would be payable but for being excepted under the provisions of article 3 of the Social Welfare (Special Provisions for Volunteer Workers) Regulations, 1985 ( S.I. No. 161 of 1985 )".

10. Volunteer development workers specified at sub-paragraph (a) of article 2 are hereby prescribed as a class of volunteer workers for the purpose of sub-section 3A of section 56 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 , as inserted by section 14 of the Social Welfare Act, 1985 .

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare, this 6th

day of June, 1985.

BARRY DESMOND,

Minister for Social Welfare.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The purpose of these Regulations is to provide social insurance cover, on their return, for volunteer development workers who go abroad to work in developing (i.e. Third World) countries. This is being done by excepting such workers from the payment of social insurance contributions and awarding them credited contributions for the period of their absence up to 5 years. The Regulations provide that these credits will only apply in the case of volunteer development workers who are being paid at "local" rates of pay in the developing country.

Provision is included for the retrospective award of credited contributions to 6th April, 1983 in order to bring returned workers immediately into benefit. Provision is also included for the modification of the contribution conditions for the receipt of treatment benefits by returned volunteer development workers.

The Regulations also provide that volunteer development workers who were already insured under the Occupational Injuries Scheme will not have the pre-accident earnings limit in the case of claims under that scheme applied to them.