Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981

Interpretation generally.

[1952, s. 2; 1966 OI, s. 1; 1978 AM, ss. 4, 6, 13; 1980, ss. 6, 14, 19, 23]

2.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“adult dependant” means, in relation to any person—

(a) a wife who is living with or being wholly or mainly maintained by her husband, or

(b) a husband who is incapable of self-support by reason of some physical or mental infirmity and who is being wholly or mainly maintained by his wife, or

(c) a female person over the age of 16 years having the care of one or more than one qualified child who normally resides with that person where that person is—

(i) a single person, or

(ii) a widow, or

(iii) a widower, or

(iv) a married person who is not living with and is neither wholly or mainly maintaining, nor being wholly or mainly maintained by, such married person's spouse;

“appeals officer” means a person holding office as an appeals officer under section 297 ;

“assistance” means assistance under Part III ;

“beneficiary” means a person entitled to benefit;

“benefit” means benefit under Part II ;

“benefit year” means the period commencing on the first Monday in a particular year and ending on the Sunday immediately preceding the first Monday in the following year;

“Collector-General” means the Collector-General appointed under section 162 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 ;

“contribution week” means one of the successive periods of 7 consecutive days in a contribution year beginning on the first day of that contribution year, or on any 7th day after that day, the last day of a contribution year (or the last two days of a contribution year ending in a leap year) being taken as included in the last contribution week of that contribution year;

“contribution year” means a year of assessment within the meaning of the Income Tax Acts;

“credited contribution” means, in relation to any insured person, a contribution credited to that person by virtue of section 14 ;

“day of incapacity for work” has the meaning assigned in section 18 ;

“day of unemployment” has the meaning assigned in section 29 ;

“deciding officer” means a person holding office as a deciding officer under section 295 ;

“employed contributor” has the meaning assigned in section 5 (1);

“employer's contribution” has the meaning assigned in section 9 (1) (a);

“employment contribution” has the meaning assigned in section 9 (1) (a);

“entry into insurance” means, subject to sections 16 (3), 79 (11) and 93 (6) in relation to any person, the date on which he becomes an insured person;

[1975 SWA, s. 1]

“health board” means a health board within the meaning of the Health Act, 1970 ;

“incapable of work” means incapable of work by reason of some specific disease or bodily or mental disablement or deemed, in accordance with regulations, to be so incapable;

“increase” means, in relation to any benefit, an increase under section 21 , 32 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 50 , 51 , 81 , 86 , 87 , 91 , 95 or 103 ;

“inspector” means a person holding office as an inspector under section 114 ;

“insurable employment” means employment such that a person, over the age of 16 years and under pensionable age, employed therein would be an employed contributor;

“insurable (occupational injuries) employment” has the meaning assigned in section 38 ;

“insured person” means a person insured under Part II ;

“maternity benefit” means maternity allowance or maternity grant, as the case may be;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Social Welfare;

“occupational injuries insurance” has the meaning assigned in section 37 (2);

“the Occupational Injuries Fund” means the Fund to which section 67 relates;

“orphan” means, subject to sections 52 (4) and 97 (3)—

(a) a qualified child, being a legitimate child, both of whose parents are dead and who, where he has a step-parent, does not normally reside with the step-parent or a person married to and living with the step-parent, or

(b) a qualified child, being an illegitimate child, whose mother is dead and whose father is dead or unknown and who, if there is a surviving husband of his mother, does not normally reside with that husband or a woman married to and living with that husband, or

[1980, ss. 12, 22]

(c) a qualified child one of whose parents is dead and whose surviving parent has abandoned him or refused or failed to provide for him;

[1977, s. 13 (2)]

“pensionable age” means the age of 66 years;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations;

[1970, ss. 29 (3), 34(2); 1966 OI, s. 1]

“qualified child” means, except in sections 92 (5), 107 (2), 157 , 176 and 223 , a person who—

(a) is under the age of 18 years,

(b) is ordinarily resident in the State, and

(c) is not detained in a reformatory or an industrial school;

“qualifying contribution” means the appropriate employment contribution (or appropriate employment contributions) which was (or were) paid, or would have been paid but for section 10 (1) (c), in respect of any insured person;

[1978 AM, s. 4 (1)]

“reckonable earnings” means, subject to regulations and to section 71 , earnings derived from insurable employment or insurable (occupational injuries) employment;

“regulations” means regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“the Social Insurance Fund” means the Fund to which section 122 relates;

“the Supplementary Unemployment Fund” means the Fund to which section 269 relates;

“voluntary contribution” has the meaning assigned in section 11 (1) (a);

“voluntary contributor” has the meaning assigned in section 5 (2);

“the Workmen's Compensation Acts” means the Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1934 to 1955, and the enactments repealed by the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1934 .

(2) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) a person shall be deemed to be over any age therein mentioned if he has attained that age and shall be deemed to be under any age therein mentioned if he has not attained that age;

(b) a person shall be deemed to be between two ages therein mentioned if he has attained the first-mentioned age but has not attained the second-mentioned age;

(c) a person shall be deemed not to have attained the age of 16 years until the commencement of the 16th anniversary of the day of his birth, and similarly with respect to any other age;

(d) regulations may provide that, for the purpose of determining whether a contribution is payable in respect of any person, or at what rate a contribution is payable, that person shall be treated as having attained at the beginning of a contribution week, or as not having attained until the end of a contribution week, any age which he attains during the course of that week.

(3) Any reference in this Act to contributions shall, where the reference is without qualification, be construed, save where the context otherwise requires, as including both a reference to employment contributions and a reference to voluntary contributions.

[1966 OI, s. 36]

(4) Regulations may, as respects any class or description of insurable employment or insurable (occupational injuries) employment, specify the persons to be treated for the purposes of this Act as the employers of employed contributors employed in that employment.

(5) References in this Act to an employed contributor's employer shall not be construed as including his employer in any employment other than insurable employment or insurable (occupational injuries) employment.

[1974 (No. 1), s. 4]

(6) Any question relating to the normal residence of a qualified child shall, subject to section 224 (2), be decided in accordance with regulations made under this subsection.

[1966 OI, s. 1; 1952 CA, s. 8]

(7) Where a child has been or becomes adopted pursuant to the Adoption Acts, 1952 to 1976, then for the purposes of this Act—

(a) the child shall thereafter be treated as if he were the child of the adopter or adopters born to him, her or them in lawful wedlock and were not the child of any other person and, if he was an orphan immediately before the adoption, as having ceased to be an orphan, and

(b) if there is one adopter only, in any application after the adoption with respect to the child of the definition of “orphan” contained in subsection (1), “the parent of whom is dead” shall be substituted in paragraph (a) of that definition for “both of whose parents are dead”.

(8) References in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended or extended by any subsequent enactment.

(9) In this Act, a reference to a Part or Chapter, section or Schedule is to a Part or Chapter or section of or Schedule to this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(10) In this Act, a reference to a subsection, paragraph, subparagraph or clause is to the subsection, paragraph, subparagraph or clause of the provision (including a Schedule) in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.