Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981

Continuance, etc., of the Fund.

[1942 IU, s. 45]

269.—(1) The Fund shall continue in being under the control and management of the Minister. There shall be paid into the Fund all weekly contributions payable by employers and insured persons and any other moneys required to be so paid under this Part and there shall be paid out of the Fund all payments required to be so made under this Part.

(2) The accounts of the Fund shall be kept in such form as the Minister for Finance may direct or approve.

(3) The accounts of the Fund for every year of account shall be submitted for audit to the Comptroller and Auditor General and when examined and certified shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(4) Any moneys forming part of the Fund may from time to time be paid over to the Minister for Finance and by him invested and kept invested at his discretion on behalf of the Fund in all or any of the following ways, that is to say, in the purchase of any stock, fund or security in which trustees are authorised by the law for the time being in force to invest trust funds or in the purchase of any stock, shares or security the principal and interest of which are guaranteed under statutory authority by the Government and any interest received from such investment shall be paid into the Fund.

(5) Moneys available for investment under subsection (4) shall be Government moneys within the meaning of the Approved Investments Act, 1933 , and that Act shall apply in regard thereto accordingly.

[1942 IU, s. 46]

(6) Whenever and so often as it appears to the Minister that the Fund is or is likely to be either insufficient or more than sufficient to discharge the liabilities imposed or about to be imposed upon the Fund under this Part or that the rates of weekly contributions are or are likely to be excessive or deficient the Minister may by regulations do either or both of the following things—

(a) amend Part I of the Fifth Schedule by substituting for the respective rates of weekly contributions set out in columns (2) and (3) of that Part such other rates of weekly contributions as he thinks fit, but not so as to vary the rates of weekly contributions unequally as between employers and insured persons,

(b) amend Part II of the Fifth Schedule by substituting for the hourly rates of supplementary benefit set out in column (2) of that Part such other hourly rates of supplementary benefit as he thinks fit.

(7) References in subsection (6) to the Fifth Schedule shall be construed as references to that Schedule as amended by any regulations previously made under subsection (6).