Social Welfare Act, 1980

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Unemployment assistance (new rates and increase for certain adult dependants).

6.—(1) The Act of 1933 is hereby amended by the substitution for section 17 of the following section:

“17.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the rate (in this section referred to as the scheduled rate) of unemployment assistance shall be the weekly rate set out in column (2) of Part I of the Eighth Schedule (inserted by the Social Welfare Act, 1980) to the Social Welfare Act, 1952 , increased by—

(a) the amount set out in column (3) of that Part for any period during which—

(i) the applicant or recipient is living with or wholly or mainly maintaining his wife, or

(ii) the applicant or recipient is wholly or mainly maintaining her husband who is incapable of self-support by reason of some physical or mental infirmity, or

(iii) the applicant or recipient being—

(I) a single person, a widow or a widower, or

(II) a married person who is not living with and is neither wholly or mainly maintaining, nor being wholly or mainly maintained by, his spouse,

is wholly or mainly maintaining a female person over the age of 16 years having the care of one or more than one qualified child who normally resides with the applicant or recipient,

subject to the restriction that the applicant or recipient shall not be entitled to an increase of assistance under this paragraph in respect of more than one person, and

(b) the amount set out in column (4) of that Part in respect of a qualified child or each of two qualified children who normally resides or reside with the applicant or recipient and, in addition, where there are more than two such children, the amount set out in column (5) of that Part in respect of each such child in excess of two.

(2) Whenever a person is entitled to receive unemployment assistance such assistance shall be given to him in the form of a money payment at whichever of the following rates is applicable—

(a) if he has no means, at the scheduled rate, and

(b) if he has means, at a rate equal to the scheduled rate reduced by 5p per week for every 5p or part of 5p of his means.

(3) Whenever, in the calculation of the rate at which unemployment assistance is payable to a person, the weekly amount by which the scheduled rate is to be reduced is equal to or exceeds the weekly amount of the scheduled rate, no unemployment assistance shall be payable to such person.

(4) The means of any person for the purpose of this section shall be taken to be the means of such person as stated in the qualification certificate for the time being held by him.

(5) In this section—

‘qualified child’ has the meaning assigned by section 2 (1) of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 ;

‘recipient’ means a person entitled to receive unemployment assistance.”.

(2) Section 4 (1A) (inserted by the Act of 1952) of the Unemployment Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1935 , is hereby amended by the substitution for the definition (inserted by the Act of 1977) of “adult dependant” of the following:

“‘adult dependant’ means a person in respect of whom an increase of unemployment assistance is payable under section 17 (1) (a) (inserted by the Social Welfare Act, 1980) of the Principal Act;”.

(3) Section 3 of the Act of 1979 is hereby repealed.

(4) This section shall come into operation on the 2nd day of April, 1980.