Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993
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THIRD SCHEDULE RULES AS TO CALCULATION OF MEANS | ||
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PART I Unemployment Assistance and Pre-Retirement Allowance | ||
Sections 119 and 127 . | ||
[1992, s. 27(1); 1993, s. 13; S.I. No. 76 of 1990 , A. 5] | ||
1. In the calculation of the means of a person for the purposes of Chapters 2 and 3 of Part III, the following things and no other things shall be deemed to constitute the means of a person— | ||
(1) the yearly value ascertained in the prescribed manner of all property belonging to him or to his spouse (not being property personally used or enjoyed by him or by his spouse or a farm of land leased either by him or by his spouse under a lease which was certified by the Irish Land Commission to be bona fide and in accordance with sound land use practice) which is invested or otherwise put to profitable use or is capable of being, but is not, invested or put to profitable use; | ||
(2) all income which he or his spouse may reasonably expect to receive during the succeeding year in cash, whether as contributions to the expenses of the household or otherwise, but excluding— | ||
(a) all moneys earned by his spouse from insurable employment and insurable self-employment, | ||
(b) any moneys received by way of benefit, pension, assistance, allowance or supplement under Part II, III, IV or V, | ||
(c) any income arising from a bonus under a scheme administered by the Minister for the Gaeltacht for the making of special grants to parents or guardians resident in the Gaeltacht or Breac-Ghaeltacht (as defined in such scheme) of children attending primary schools, | ||
(d) in the case of a qualified applicant under a scheme administered by the Minister for the Gaeltacht and known as Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, any income received under that scheme in respect of a person who is temporarily resident with the qualified applicant, together with any other income received in respect of such temporary resident, | ||
(e) an amount of an allowance, dependant's allowance, disability pension or wound pension under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1980, or a combination of such allowances and such pensions so far as such amount does not exceed £80 per year, | ||
(f) any moneys received from a charitable organisation, being a body whose activities are carried on otherwise than for profit (but excluding any public or local authority) and one of whose functions is to assist persons in need by making grants of money to them, | ||
(g) any income arising from employment of a casual nature by a health board as a home help, | ||
(h) any moneys received by way of training allowance from an organisation while undergoing a course of rehabilitationtraining provided by the organisation (being an organisation approved of by the Minister for Health for the purposes of the provision of such training), | ||
(i) any moneys, except so far as they exceed £104 per year, received by such person or by the spouse of such person in respect of work as an outworker under a scheme that is, in the opinion of the Minister, charitable in character and purpose, | ||
(j) where he or his spouse is engaged on a seasonal basis in the occupation of fishing, one-half of so much of the income derived therefrom as does not exceed £120 per year and one-third of so much of such income as exceeds £120 per year but does not exceed £300 per year, | ||
(k) payments by a health board in respect of a child who is boarded out, | ||
(l) any moneys received under a statutory scheme administered by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment in respect of redundancy or by way of financial assistance to unemployed persons changing residence, | ||
(m) such amount as may be prescribed of all moneys earned by him in respect of current personal employment under a contract of service; | ||
(3) the yearly value ascertained in the prescribed manner of any advantage accruing to him or to his spouse from— | ||
(a) the use of property (other than a domestic dwelling or farm building owned and occupied, furniture and personal effects) which is personally used or enjoyed by him or by his spouse, and | ||
(b) the leasing by him or by his spouse of a farm of land under a lease which was certified by the Irish Land Commission to be bona fide and in accordance with sound land use practice; | ||
(4) all income and the yearly value ascertained in the prescribed manner of all property of which he or his spouse have directly or indirectly deprived themselves in order to qualify for the receipt of unemployment assistance or pre-retirement allowance, but where such income or the yearly value of the property so ascertained has reduced since the date of calculation, the calculation may be revised, subject to such conditions and in such circumstances as may be prescribed: | ||
Provided that any such regulations shall not cause the income or yearly value of the property taken to be part of the means to be increased; | ||
(5) the yearly value of any benefit or privilege enjoyed by him or by his spouse, including the estimated value to the household in the succeeding year deriving from all income earned by his spouse from insurable employment and insurable self-employment. | ||
2. For the purposes of Rules 1(2) and 1(5), the income of a person shall, in the absence of other means of ascertaining it, be taken to be the income actually received during the year immediately preceding the date of calculation. | ||
3. In this Schedule “spouse”, in relation to a person, means a spouse who is living with, and not apart from, that person. | ||
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PART II Old Age (Non-Contributory), Blind, Widow's and Orphan's (Non-Contributory) Pensions, Deserted Wife's, Prisoner's Wife's, Lone Parent's and Carer's Allowances | ||
[1981, Sch. 3; 1984, s. 9(3)(a); S.I. No. 272 of 1990 , As. 13, 15] | ||
1. Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), in calculating the means of a person, account shall be taken of the following— | ||
(1) the yearly value of any property belonging to the person (not being property personally used or enjoyed by the person or a farm of land leased by him under a lease which was certified by the Irish Land Commission to be bona fide and in accordance with sound land use practice) which is invested or is otherwise put to profitable use by the person or which, though capable of investment or profitable use is not invested or put to profitable use by the person, the yearly value of the property being calculated as follows: | ||
(a) the first £200 of the capital value of the property shall be excluded, and | ||
(b) the yearly value of the next £375 of the capital value of the property shall be taken to be one-twentieth part of the capital value, and | ||
(c) the yearly value of so much of the capital value of the property as exceeds £575 shall be taken to be one-tenth part of the capital value, | ||
but no account shall be taken under any other provision of these Rules of any appropriation of the property for the purpose of current expenditure; | ||
[1990, s. 13] | ||
(2) in the application of paragraph (1) for the purposes of widow's (non-contributory) pension, orphan's (non-contributory) pension, deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance or lone parent's allowance, the following subparagraphs shall be substituted for subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) of that paragraph: | ||
“(a) the first £200 of the capital value of the property shall be excluded, and | ||
(b) in the case of a lone parent, an additional £100 of the capital value of the property shall be excluded in respect of each qualified child normally residing with the lone parent in respect of whom an increase of allowance is claimable, and | ||
(c) the yearly value of any remainder of the capital value of the property shall be taken to be one-twentieth part of such remainder.”; | ||
[1990, ss. 13, 18(2)] | ||
(3) where, for the purposes of old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension, deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance, lone parent's allowance or carer's allowance, the means are or include means assessed in accordance with paragraph (1) or paragraphs (1) and (2), as the case maybe, and the means as so assessed are not less than £52, the means shall be taken to be increased by £52; | ||
[1990, s. 13; 1993, s. 24] | ||
(4) all income in cash (including, in the case of widow's (non-contributory) pension, orphan's (non-contributory) pension, deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance or lone parent's allowance, the net cash value of such non-cash benefits as may be prescribed, and such income received by a qualified child or qualified children as may be prescribed), which the person may reasonably expect to receive during the year succeeding the date of calculation, but excluding— | ||
[1984, s. 9(3)(b)] | ||
(a) any sums arising from the investment or profitable use of property (not being property personally used or enjoyed by the person or a farm of land leased by him under a lease which was certified by the Irish Land Commission to be bona fide and in accordance with sound land use practice), | ||
[1984, s. 16(2)] | ||
(b) any sums received by way of benefit, pension, assistance, allowance or supplement under Part II, III, IV or V, | ||
(c) any income arising from a bonus under a scheme administered by the Minister for Education for the making of special grants to parents or guardians resident in the Gaeltacht or Breac-Ghaeltacht (as defined in such scheme) of children attending primary schools, | ||
[1990, s. 34(3)] | ||
(d) in the case of a qualified applicant under a scheme administered by the Minister for the Gaeltacht and known as Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, any income received under that scheme in respect of a person who is temporarily resident with the qualified applicant, together with any other income received in respect of such temporary resident, | ||
[1991, s. 41(3)] | ||
(e) (i) any moneys from a charitable organisation, being a body whose activities are carried on otherwise than for profit (but excluding any public or local authority) and one of whose functions is to assist persons in need by making grants of money to them, and | ||
(ii) any income, other than income of the kind specified in clause (i), from voluntary or gratuitous payments in so far as it does not exceed £52.25 per year, | ||
[1987 (No. 2), s. 18] | ||
(f) any income arising by way of— | ||
(i) infectious diseases maintenance allowance to or in respect of the person or the person's dependants, | ||
[1989, s. 15(3)] | ||
(ii) payments by a health board in respect of a child who is boarded out, | ||
(iii) disabled person's maintenance allowance to the person, or, | ||
(iv) a mobility allowance payable under section 61 of the Health Act, 1970 , to the person, | ||
(g) subject to Rule 5, an amount of an allowance, dependent's allowance, disability pension or wound pension under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1980, (including, for the purposes of this subparagraph, a British war pension) orof a combination of such allowances and such pensions except so far as such amount exceeds £80 per year, | ||
[1985 (No. 2), s. 18(a)] | ||
(h) in the case of a blind person, his earnings (including wages and profit from any form of self-employment) as a blind person except and in so far as the annual amount of such earnings is calculated to exceed an amount made up as follows— | ||
£312, plus £208 if his spouse is living with or is wholly or mainly maintained by him or, being a single person, widow or widower, is maintaining wholly or mainly a person over the age of 16 years having the care of one or more than one qualified child who normally resides or reside with him, plus £104 for each qualified child normally residing with him of whom account has not already been taken in accordance with this paragraph in calculating the means of another person, | ||
(i) any income arising from a grant or allowance in pursuance of a scheme for promoting the welfare of the blind prepared under section 2 of the Blind Persons Act, 1920 , | ||
[1982, s. 6; 1985 (No. 2), s. 18(b); 1990, s. 13] | ||
(j) in the case of a person who is not a blind person, and who has a qualified child or qualified children who normally resides or reside with him, all earnings derived by him from his personal exertions except and in so far as the annual amount of such earnings is calculated to exceed £104 (or for the purposes of lone parent's allowance, £312) for each such child of whom account has not already been taken in accordance with this paragraph in calculating the means of another person, | ||
[1991, s. 41(3)] | ||
(k) in the case of a person who is not a blind person, any moneys, except so far as they exceed £52 per year, received by the person in respect of employment as an outworker under a scheme that is, in the opinion of the Minister, charitable in character and purpose, | ||
[1991, s. 41(3)] | ||
(l) any income arising from employment of a casual nature by a health board as a home help, | ||
(m) any moneys received under a statutory scheme administered by the Minister for Enterprise and Employment in respect of redundancy or by way of financial assistance to unemployed persons changing residence, | ||
and such income shall, in the absence of other means for ascertaining it, be taken to be that actually received during the year immediately preceding the date of calculation: | ||
[1992, s. 18] | ||
Provided that, where such income is attributable to a period prior to the year immediately preceding the date of calculation but is received in a subsequent year, it shall be regarded for the purposes of this paragraph as having been received in the year to which it is attributable; | ||
[1984, s. 9(3)(c)] | ||
(5) the yearly value of any advantage accruing to the person from— | ||
(a) the use or enjoyment of property (other than a domestic dwelling or a farm building owned and occupied, furniture and personal effects) which is personally used or enjoyed by the person, and | ||
(b) a farm of land leased by the person under a lease which was certified by the Irish Land Commission to be bona fide and in accordance with sound land use practice, | ||
but for the purposes of this Rule a cottage provided under the Labourers Acts, 1883 to 1965, and vested in the person or the spouse of that person pursuant to those Acts or pursuant to the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1984, shall not be treated as property which is personally used or enjoyed by that person or the spouse of that person so long as payment of the purchase annuity has not been completed; | ||
[1990, s. 18(2)(b)] | ||
(6) in the case of carer's allowance, such amount as the Minister determines that the relevant pensioner (as defined in section 163) could reasonably be expected to contribute to the support of the carer but in determining such amount, no account shall be taken of any sums received by the relevant pensioner under Part II, III or IV. | ||
[1992, s. 13(1)] | ||
2. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Schedule, for the purposes of old age (non-contributory) pension, the gross proceeds derived from the sale of the principal residence of the claimant or beneficiary or, in the case of a married couple who are living together, the spouse of the claimant or beneficiary where such spouse has attained pensionable age, shall not, subject— | ||
(a) to such limit, | ||
(b) to such conditions, | ||
(c) in such circumstances, and | ||
(d) for such periods, | ||
as shall be prescribed, be taken into account in calculating the means of the claimant or pensioner. | ||
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Schedule, for the purposes of— | ||
(a) widow's (non-contributory) pension, | ||
(b) deserted wife's allowance, | ||
(c) prisoner's wife's allowance, or | ||
(d) lone parent's allowance, | ||
where the claimant or beneficiary has attained pensionable age, the gross proceeds derived from the sale of the principal residence of the claimant or beneficiary shall not, subject— | ||
(i) to such limit, | ||
(ii) to such conditions, | ||
(iii) in such circumstances, and | ||
(iv) for such periods, | ||
as may be prescribed, be taken into account in calculating the means of the claimant or beneficiary. | ||
(3) In this Rule “gross proceeds derived from the sale of the principal residence” means— | ||
(a) the agreed sale price of the residence, or | ||
(b) where the claimant or beneficiary purchases alternative accommodation, the difference between the agreed sale price of the former residence and the agreed purchase price of the replacement residence. | ||
(4) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to any sums arising from the investment or profitable use of the gross proceeds derived from the sale of the principal residence. | ||
3. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), if it appears that any person has, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, directly or indirectly deprived himself of any income or property in order to qualify himself for the receipt of the pension or allowance in question, or for the receipt thereof at a higher rate than that to which he would otherwise be entitled, that income or the yearly value of that property shall for the purposes of these Rules be taken to be part of the means of that person. | ||
(2) (a) Subject to subparagraph (b), paragraph (1) shall not apply to any assignment— | ||
(i) which is an assignment to a child or children of the assignor, and | ||
(ii) which is an assignment of property consisting of a farm of land (together with or without the stock and chattels thereon) the rateable value of which (including the buildings thereon) does not exceed £30 and of which the assignor is the owner and the occupier or the occupier only. | ||
(b) Subparagraph (a) shall not apply to an assignment by a person who, at any time within the 3 years ending when the relevant claim for a pension or allowance or application for an increase of a pension or allowance is made, was as respects any agricultural lands exceeding £30 in rateable value or aggregate rateable value, the owner and occupier thereof, the occupier only thereof or the owner and occupier of part thereof and the occupier only of the remainder. | ||
(c) In this paragraph “assignment” includes any form of conveyance, transfer or other transaction by which a person parts with the ownership or possession of property. | ||
[1992, s. 18(b)] | ||
(3) In the case of a person to whom paragraph (1) applies, where the income or the yearly value of the property taken to be part of his means for the purposes of that paragraph has reduced since the date of calculation, the calculation may be revised, subject to such conditions and in such circumstances as may be prescribed, but regulations made under this paragraph shall not cause the income or the yearly value of the property taken to be part of his means to be increased. | ||
[1992, s. 18(c)] | ||
4. (1) In the case of an old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension or a carer's allowance, the following provisions shall have effect when calculating the means of a person who is one of a couple living together— | ||
(a) the means of the person shall be taken to be one-half of the total means of the couple; | ||
(b) the person shall be deemed to be entitled to one-half of all property to which the person or the other member of the couple is entitled or to which the person and the other member of the couple are jointly entitled; | ||
(c) for the purposes of this Rule, the means of each member of the couple shall first be determined in accordance with these Rules (each being regarded as an applicant for a pension or a pension at a higher rate or carer's allowance, as the case may be) and the total means shall be the sum of the means of each member as so determined; | ||
(d) where one member of the couple dies, nothing which was reckoned for the purposes of pension, or would (if such deceased member had been entitled to receive any pension) have been so reckoned, as means of the deceased member shall be so reckoned as means of the surviving member for the purpose of reducing the pension of the surviving member if any payment in respect of that pension was made before the death of the deceased member or becomes payable in respect of a period previous or part of which was previous to that death. | ||
(2) In paragraph (1) “couple” means a married couple who are living together or a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as husband and wife. | ||
(3) In calculating the means of a person who is one of a married couple living apart from his spouse, any sum paid by him to his spouse under a separation order shall be deducted in calculating his means. | ||
[1992, s. 18(d)] | ||
5. Notwithstanding these Rules, where— | ||
(a) an old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension, orphan's (non-contributory) pension, deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance or lone parent's allowance is in course of payment to or in respect of a person or the spouse of the person or both of them, and | ||
(b) a pension or pensions (in this Rule referred to as “the other pension”), not being a pension or pensions mentioned in paragraph (a), is in course of payment to or in respect of the person or the spouse of the person or both of them, | ||
in calculating the means of the person or of the spouse or of both of them for the purposes of old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension, orphan's (non-contributory) pension, deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance or lone parent's allowance (as the case may require) any portion of the amount of an increase in the other pension or the aggregate increase, where more than one increase in the other pension has occurred, which, if it were reckoned as means, would result in a reduction in the amount of the pension or combined pensions (as the case may be) which would be greater than the amount by which the other pension has been increased, shall not be reckoned as means. | ||
[1990, ss. 13, 18(2)] | ||
6. Notwithstanding this Schedule, the amount of any allowance, special allowance, dependent's allowance, disability pension or wound pension under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1980, or pension under the Military Service (Pensions) Acts, 1924 to 1964, arising out of service in the period commencing on the 23rd day of April, 1916, and ending on the 30th day of September, 1923, or pension underthe Connaught Rangers (Pensions) Acts, 1936 to 1964, shall be disregarded in the calculation of means for the purposes of Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Part III. | ||
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PART III Supplementary Welfare Allowance | ||
[1981, s. 210(2), (3)] | ||
1. In calculating the weekly means of a person for supplementary welfare allowance account shall be taken of the following— | ||
[1985 (No. 2), s. 17] | ||
(1) all income in cash, including the net cash value of any non-cash earnings derived from personal exertions and the actual or estimated amount of any household income, whether as contributions to the expenses of the household or otherwise, but excluding— | ||
[1986, s. 17] | ||
(a) any sums received by way of child benefit under Part IV, | ||
[1989, s. 15(2)] | ||
(b) payments by a health board in respect of a child who is boarded out, | ||
[1990, s. 34(2)] | ||
(c) in the case of a qualified applicant under a scheme administered by the Minister for the Gaeltacht and known as Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, any income received under that scheme in respect of a person who is temporarily resident with the qualified applicant, together with any other income received in respect of such temporary resident, | ||
(d) any sums received by way of allowance for domiciliary care of handicapped children under section 61 of the Health Act, 1970 , | ||
[1984, s. 9(2)(a)] | ||
(e) any sums arising from the investment or profitable use of property (not being property personally used or enjoyed by such person or a farm of land leased by him under a lease which was certified by the Irish Land Commission to be bona fide and in accordance with sound land use practice), | ||
[1991, s. 41(2)] | ||
(f) any moneys received from a charitable organisation, being a body whose activities are carried on otherwise than for profit (but excluding any public or local authority) and one of whose functions is to assist persons in need by making grants of money to them, and | ||
[1991, s. 41(2)] | ||
(g) any income arising from employment of a casual nature by a health board as a home help; | ||
[1984, s. 9(2)(b)] | ||
(2) the value of any property belonging to such person (not being property personally used or enjoyed by him or a farm of land leased by him under a lease which was certified by the Irish Land Commission to be bona fide and in accordance with sound land use practice) which is invested or is otherwise put to profitable use or which, though capable of investment or profitable use, is not invested or put to profitable use, the yearly value of the first £400 of the property being taken to be one-twentieth part of the capital value and the yearly value of so much of the capital value of the property as exceeds the sum of £400 being taken to be one-tenth part of the capital value; and the weekly value of the property being calculated as one fifty-second part of the yearly value so calculated; | ||
[1984, s. 9(2)(c)] | ||
(3) the value of any advantage accruing to such person from— | ||
(a) the use or enjoyment of property (other than a domestic dwelling or a farm building owned and occupied, or furniture and personal effects) which is personally used or enjoyed by him, and | ||
(b) the leasing by him of a farm of land under a lease which was certified by the Irish Land Commission to be bona fide and in accordance with sound land use practice; | ||
(4) the value of any benefit or privilege enjoyed by such person; | ||
(5) all income and the value of all property of which such person has directly or indirectly deprived himself in order to qualify himself for the receipt of supplementary welfare allowance. | ||
2. The Minister may by regulations vary the provisions of Rule 1. | ||
[1993, s. 4] |