Social Welfare Act, 1984

PART III

Family Income Supplement

Insertion of part IVA in Principal Act.

13.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following Part after Part IV:

“PART IVA

Family Income Supplement

232A.— In this Part—

Interpretation.

“child” means a person who by virtue of section 223 (1) (as amended by the Social Welfare Act, 1983 ) is a qualified child for the purposes of Part IV;

“family” means—

(a) a person who is engaged in remunerative full-time employment as an employee, and

(b) where such person is a married person living with or wholly or mainly maintaining his or her spouse, that spouse, and

(c) a child or children in respect of whom any of the foregoing is qualified for a children's allowance under section 224;

“family income supplement” shall be construed in accordance with section 232B;

“weekly family income” means, subject to regulations under section 232F, the amount of income received in a week by a family, less any income of a person who in respect of that family is a child.

Entitlement to family income supplement.

232B.— Subject to this Part, an allowance (in this Part referred to as “family income supplement”) shall be payable out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas in respect of a family where the weekly family income is less than—

(a) in the case of a family which includes only one child, £95, or

(b) in the case of a family which includes more than one child, £95 increased by £15 for each additional child up to and including the fifth child.

Weekly rate of family income supplement.

232C.— (1) Subject to this Part, the weekly rate of family income supplement shall be 25 per cent, of the amount by which the weekly family income is less than the amount appropriate in the particular case under section 232B.

(2) The weekly rate calculated pursuant to subsection (1) shall not in any case exceed the following amounts:

(a) in the case of a family which includes only one child, £8, and

(b) in the case of a family which includes more than one child, £8 increased by £1.75 for each additional child up to and including the fifth child.

(3) Where the weekly rate calculated pursuant to subsection (1) is less than £1, family income supplement shall not be payable.

(4) For the purposes of this section, any fraction of £1 of weekly family income greater than 50p shall be treated as £1 and any other fraction of £1 shall be disregarded.

Period of payment of family income supplement.

232D.— (1) Family income supplement shall be payable for a period of 52 weeks (or such other period as may be prescribed) beginning on the date on which it is receivable in accordance with regulations and, except where regulations otherwise provide, the weekly rate of family income supplement payable shall not be affected by any change of circumstances during that period.

(2) Where family income supplement is payable in respect of a particular family for any period, no person who was included in that family at the beginning of such period shall be regarded as a member of any other family during that period.

Person to whom family income supplement is payable.

232E.— Family income supplement shall be payable to the member of the family (other than a child) who is engaged in remunerative full-time employment as an employee or, where there are two members of the family so engaged, to the member whose weekly income as calculated for the purposes of family income supplement forms the greater part of the weekly family income as so calculated.

Regulations.

232F.— (1) The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of giving effect to this Part.

(2) Regulations under this section may, in particular and without prejudice to the generalty of subsection (1)

(a) provide for the manner of calculation or estimation of weekly family income;

(b) provide, in calculating or estimating weekly family income, for the disregarding in whole or in part of any amount of that income from any source specified in the regulations;

(c) determine the circumstances in which a person shall be regarded as being engaged in remunerative full-time employment as an employee;

(d) require employers to furnish such information as the Minister may require for the purpose of determining a claim for family income supplement;

(e) apply (with or without modification), or make provisions corresponding (with or without modification) to, any provisions of or made under Parts I, II, VII and VIII.

(3) The Minister may by regulations vary—

(a) the amounts specified in section 232B,

(b) the percentage rate specified in section 232C (1), and

(c) the weekly rates specified in section 232C (2),

but any such variation shall not reduce the amounts, the percentage rate or the weekly rates applicable immediately before the commencement of such regulations.”.