S.I. No. 87/1971 - Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1971


S.I. No. 87 of 1971.

SOCIAL WELFARE (OVERLAPPING BENEFITS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1971

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3 , 32 and 75 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952) including the said sections as extended and applied by sections 21 and 22 of the Social Welfare Act, 1970 (No. 12 of 1970), hereby makes the following Regulations:—

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1971.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1953 to 1970, may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1953 to 1971.

2. In these Regulations—

"the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1953 ( S.I. No. 14 of 1953 );

"the Regulations of 1970" means the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1970 ( S.I. No. 221 of 1970 ).

3. Article 12 of the Principal Regulations (inserted therein by the Regulations of 1970) is hereby deleted and the following substituted therefor:—

"12 (1) Where—

(a) in respect of any period a public assistance authority has granted home assistance to or on account of a person who, though entitled to a benefit, pension or allowance to which this article applies, is not at that time receiving payments on 'account thereof, and

(b) such home assistance is in excess of the amount which would have been granted to such person if such person had been receiving payment on account of the said benefit, penion or allowance, and

(c) any sum (in this article referred to as the arrears) accruing in respect of any part of the said period on account of the said benefit, pension or allowance becomes payable to such person, and

(d) such public assistance authority has, before the arrears are paid to such person, certified to the Minister the amount so paid in excess in respect of the said period by such public assistance authority,

the Minister may pay to the public assistance authority out of the arrears an amount not exceeding the amount of such excess.

(2) This article applies to—

(a) unemployment benefit,

(b) widow's (contributory) pension or an increase thereof under section 27 (2) of the Act in respect of a qualified child,

(c) orphan's (contributory) allowance,

(d) old age (contributory) pension (including benefit under section 26 (3) of the Act),

(e) retirement pension,

(f) death benefit by way of widow's pension, widower's pension, parent's pension, orphan's pension or an increase under section 19 of the Act of 1966 in respect of a child qualified for the purposes of that Act,

(g) deserted wife's allowance or an increase thereof in respect of a qualified child.".

4. Article 15 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the deletion of sub–paragraph (d) (inserted by the Regulations of 1970) to sub–article (1) and the substitution of the following therefor—

"(d) he shall not be entitled to invalidity pension if less than one hundred and fifty six employment contributions have been paid in respect of him in respect of employment since the date of his discharge from the said armed forces.".

5. Article 28 of the Principal Regulations (inserted by the Regulations of 1970) is hereby deleted and the following article substituted therefor:—

"28 (1) Where, but for this article, invalidity pension or retirement pension would be payable to a person in respect of any period and any of the following would also be payable to or in respect of that person in respect of the same period—

(a) unemployment benefit,

(b) disability benefit,

(c) maternity allowance,

(d) widow's (contributory) pension,

(e) old age (contributory) pension,

(f) invalidity pension,

(g) retirement pension,

(h) increase under section 26 of the Act of any of the payments specified at (e), (f), and (g) above,

(i) benefit under section 26 (3) of the Act,

(j) death benefit by way of widow's pension or widower's pension or parent's pension at the higher rate under the Act of 1966,

(k) injury benefit,

(l) unemployability supplement,

(m) pension under the Old Age Pensions Acts,

(n) widow's (non–contributory) pension under the Widow's and Orphans' Pensions Acts,

(o) unemployment assistance, or an increase thereof in respect of a male adult dependant, under the Unemployment Assistance Acts,

either the invalidity pension or retirement pension (as the case may be) or the relevant benefit, allowance, pension, increase, supplement or assistance specified at (a) to (o) above shall be payable to or in respect of that person in respect of that period but not both.

(2) Where, but for this article, an increase of invalidity pension or retirement pension under section 26 of the Act or an increase of either pension under section 27 of the Act would be payable in respect of a person in respect of any period and any of the following would also be payable to or in respect of that person in respect of the same period—

(a) widow's (contributory) pension,

(b) old age (contributory) pension,

(c) increase under sections 26 or 27 of the Act,

(d) death benefit by way of orphan's pension, widow's pension or parent's pension at the higher rate under the Act of 1966,

(e) pension under the Old Age Pensions Acts,

(f) increase of pension under section 5 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1964 (No. 28 of 1964),

(g) widow's (non–contributory) pension under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts,

(h) orphan's (contributory) allowance,

(i) orphan's (non–contributory) pension under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts,

either the increase of invalidity pension or retirement pension (as the case may be) or the relevant pension, increase, benefit, or allowance specified at (a) to (i) above shall be payable to or in respect of that person in respect of that period but not both.

(3) The provisions of sub–articles (1) and (2) of this article shall not operate to prevent payment of either pension or an increase thereof in respect of a period of a full week where during that week a pension or an increase thereof ceases to be payable under those sub–articles by reason of another pension or an increase thereof becoming payable.".

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this 10th day of March, 1971.

JOSEPH BRENNAN,

Minister for Social Welfare.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1953 to 1970, provide that where invalidity pension or retirement is payable to a person who would otherwise be entitled at the same time to any of a number of specified payments, then either the pension or the specified payment may be paid but not both. These Regulations ease this restriction somewhat by permitting such a person to have an increase of certain payments of a short–term nature payable in respect of him or her as an adult dependant and by permitting a person in receipt of any of the said short–term payments to have an increase of invalidity pension or retirement pension payable in respect of him or her as an adult dependant. The Regulations also ease somewhat the restriction operating in the case of certain pensioners of the armed forces by allowing them to receive invalidity pension in certain circumstances. These Regulations also redefine the categories of social welfare payments out of which public assistance authorities may, in certain circumstances, be recouped advances of home assistance.