S.I. No. 196/1991 - Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Control Provisions) Regulations, 1991.

S.I. No. 196 of 1991.

SOCIAL WELFARE (MISCELLANEOUS CONTROL PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS, 1991.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3 , 13 , 15 and 115 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 (No. 1 of 1981 ) and by section 15A of that Act (as inserted by section 2 of the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1987 (No. 29 of 1987) and amended by section 19 of the Social Welfare Act, 1989 (No. 4 of 1989)) and by section 28 of the Social Welfare Act, 1991 (No. 7 of 1991) hereby makes the following Regulations:—

PART I General

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Control Provisions) Regulations, 1991.

2. In these Regulations—

"the Principal Act" means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 ;

"the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Notification by Employers of Commencement of Employment) Regulations, 1988 ( S.I. No. 296 of 1988 ).

PART II Notification of Commencement of Employment

3. (1) The First Schedule to the Principal Regulations is hereby deleted and is substituted by the following:—

"FIRST SCHEDULE

List of Industries, Trades and Businesses Required to Submit Notification of Commencement of Employment.

The Construction Industry, including the building, alteration, decoration, repair or demolition of any building or structure.

Contract Cleaning.

Forestry work, excluding work carried out by permanent employees of the Department of Energy or Coillte Teoranta.

The Security Industry.

The Road Haulage Industry, including only such industries whose principal business is the haulage or carriage of goods, merchandise or commodities by road, excluding work carried out by Iarnród Éireann.

Private Road Transport for Passengers by omnibus or coach.

The Catering Industry including hotels, restaurants and other premises of a similar nature where food is sold for consumption on the premises;

Licensed Bar Trade.".

(2) This article shall apply to any employment which commences on or after the 1st day of September, 1991.

4. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the insertion of the following articles after article 9:—

"10. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 7 of these Regulations the Minister may require any employer who is engaged in an industry, trade or business other than those specified in the First Schedule to submit notifications of commencement of employment to him in accordance with these regulations.

(2) Where the Minister requires an employer to submit notifications of commencement of employment to him in accordance with subarticle (1) he shall—

( a ) inform the employer accordingly in writing,

( b ) specify the period in respect of which such notifications are to commence, and

( c ) specify the office of the Department of Social Welfare to which such notifications are to be sent.

11. (1) Notwithstanding these regulations, the Minister may exempt any employer in any of the industries, trades or businesses specified in the First Schedule from the provisions of these regulations.

(2) The Minister may, at any time, revoke an exemption granted under the provisions of subarticle (1).

Where an exemption is revoked in accodance with subarticle (2), the Minister shall inform the employer accordingly in writing and specify the period in respect of which notification of commencement of employment is to commence.".

5. Part II of these Regulations and the Principal Regulations shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Notification by Employers of Commencement of Employment) Regulations, 1988 and 1991.

PART III

Commencement of Employment

6. In this Part "the Regulations of 1989" means the Social Welfare (Commencement of Employment) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 339 of 1989 ).

7. (1) Article 2 of the Regulations of 1989 is hereby amended by the substitution for the definition of "specified industry" of the following definition:—

"'specified industry' means:—

(i) the construction industry, including the building, alteration, decoration, repair or demolition of any building of structure,

(ii) forestry work,

(iii) the road haulage industry including the haulage or carriage of goods, merchandise or commodities by road,

(iv) private road transport for passengers by omnibus or coach, and

(v) the catering industry including hotels, restaurants and other premises of a similar nature where food is sold for consumption on the premises.".

(2) This article shall apply to any employment which commences on or after the 1st day of September, 1991.

8. The Regulations of 1989 are hereby amended by the insertion of the following articles after article 7:—

"8. (1) Notwithstanding these regulations the Minister may require any employer or any other person who engages a sub-contractor in a specified industry or any sub-contractor engaged to perform a service in a specified industry to submit notifications of commencement of employment to him in accordance with the provisions of these regulations.

(2) Where a notification of commencement of employment is required to be submitted to the Minister in accordance with subarticle (1) the Minister shall—

( a ) inform the employer, other person or sub-contractor accordingly in writing,

( b ) specify the period in respect of which such notification is to commence, and

( c ) specify the office of the Department of Social Welfare to which such notification is to be sent.

9. (1) Notwithstanding these Regulations, the Minister may exempt any employer, person of sub-contractor in any specified industry from the provisions of these Regulations.

(2) The Minister may at any time, revoke an exemption granted under the provisions of subarticle (1).

(3) Where an exemption is revoked in accordance with subarticle (2), the Minister shall inform the employer, person or sub-contractor accordingly in writing and specify the period in respect of which notification of commencement of employment is to commence.".

9. This Part and the Regulations of 1989 shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Commencement of Employment) Regulations, 1989 and 1991.

PART IV

Provision of Information

10. For the purposes of this Part—

"institution of higher education" means

( a ) a university,

( b ) a college of a university, or

( c ) any institution which the Minister for Education has designated in regulations made pursuant to section 1 of the Higher Education Authority Act, 1971 (No. 22 of 1971) as an institution of higher education for the purposes of that Act;

"academic year" means the period which is normally recognised in respect of an institution of higher education as beginning or continuing a cycle of education in any year.

11. (1) Every institution of higher education shall, on request, provide the Minister with such of the following information as the Minister may request in respect of each person who is registered as a student at such institution at the commencement of each academic year—

( a ) name,

( b ) address,

( c ) date of birth,

( d ) nature of the course of study being pursued,

( e ) duration of the course of study being pursued,

( f ) details of periods of attendance at the institution of higher education during the course of the relevant academic year, and

( g ) details of any grants or payments made to such student by any body, authority, institution or fund.

(2) The information requested in subarticle (1) shall be submitted by the institution of higher education in such format as is acceptable to the Minister.

(3) The information requested in subarticle (1) shall be sent, within 30 days of the receipt of a request for such information from the Minister, to such office of the Department of Social Welfare as may be specified by the Minister.

12. Where an institution of higher education has sent a notification containing the particulars specified in article 11 to the Minister such institution shall also be liable to notify the Minister of any student who registers with the said institution after the commencement of the relevant academic year in respect of which the details have already been supplied. Such notification shall contain such of the details specifed in article 11 as are requested by the Minister.

PART V

Estimation or Calculation of Reckonable Earnings

13. For the purposes of this Part—

"inspector" means an inspector appointed under section 114 of the Principal Act;

"the No. 1 Regulations of 1989" means the Social Welfare (Collection of Employment Contributions by the Collector-General) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 298 of 1989 );

"the No. 2 Regulations of 1989" means the Social Welfare (Collection of Employment Contributions for Special Contributors) Regulations, 1989 ( S.I. No. 302 of 1989 );

"reckonable earnings" has the meaning assigned to it in article 4 of the No. 1 Regulations of 1989 or in article 4 of the No. 2 Regulations of 1989 as the case may be.

14. Subject to article 17, the amount of reckonable earnings paid in respect of any person or class of persons may be calculated or estimated by an inspector in respect of any contribution year or part thereof having regard to such information or facts which appear to him to be reasonable or adequate for this purpose.

15. On the basis of a calculation or estimation made in accordance with article 14 an inspector shall determine the amount of employment contributions due by the employer of any person or class of persons in accordance with the provisions of section 10 (1) of the Principal Act.

16. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of article 7 of the No. 1 Regulations of 1989 or article 8 of the No. 2 Regulations of 1989 an employer shall, when so requested by an inspector, remit to the inspector the amount of employment contributions determined to be due by that employer in accordance with article 15.

(2) A request by an inspector under subarticle (1) shall be made in writing to the employer and the employer shall be liable to remit the amount specified in this request to the inspector within 14 days of the date of receipt of such request.

(3) Where a request made by an inspector under subarticle (1) is sent by post it shall be deemed to have been received by the person to whom it is addressed on the date on which it would be received in the ordinary course of postal deliveries, unless the contrary is proved.

17. (1) Where an inspector has made a calculation or an estimation in accordance with article 14, he may revise that calculation or estimation if the employer provides, within 14 days of the receipt by him of the request specified in article 16 or within such longer period as may be considered reasonable by the inspector, such documentary evidence as may be acceptable to the inspector.

(2) Where an inspector has revised a calculation or an estimation in accordance with subarticle (1), he shall determine the amount of employment contributions due by the employer in accordance with the provisions of section 10 (1) of the Principal Act.

(3) An employer shall, on receipt of a revised request in writing from an inspector, be liable to remit to the inspector the revised amount of employment contributions determined to be due by that employer in accordance with subarticle (2) within 14 days of the date of receipt of such revised request, notwithstanding the provisions of article 7 of the No. 1 Regulations of 1989 or article 8 of the No. 2 Regulations of 1989.

18. The amount of any employment contribution which is determined by an inspector to be due by an employer under the provisions of this Part shall be recoverable by the Minister in accordance with the provisions of section 117 of the Principal Act.

PART VI

Offences

19. A person who contravenes or fails to comply with Part V of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable at the discretion of the court—

( a ) on summary conviction of such offence to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both, or

( b ) on conviction on indictment of such offence to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding £10,000 in respect of each day on which the offence is continued.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this

18th day of July, 1991.

MICHAEL WOODS,

Minister for Social Welfare.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this

18th day of July, 1991

ALBERT REYNOLDS,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations contain a series of measures which are designed to control fraud and abuses in the social welfare system.

Part II of the Regulations extends the provisions of the Social Welfare (Notification of Commencement of Employment) Regulations, 1988 to employers engaged in the road haulage industry, private road transport for passengers, the catering industry and the licensed bar trade. Employers in these industries or businesses will be obliged to notify the Minister of the commencement of employment of each person whose employment commences on or after 1st September, 1991. This Part also allows the Minister to impose the obligation to notify commencement of employment on any employer whose trade or business is not among those scheduled in the Regulations.

Part III extends the provisions of the Social Welfare (Commencement of Employment) Regulations, 1989 to employers and other persons who engage subcontractors to carry out work in the road haulage industry, the private road transport for passengers business and the catering industry. Such persons will be obliged to notify the Minister of the commencement of such employment where it occurs on or after 1st September, 1991. Likewise subcontractors engaged to carry our work in these businesses will be obliged to notify the Minister of the date of commencement of employment of any person engaged to carry out that work with them or on their behalf.

Part IV imposes an obligation on each institution of higher education to provide the Minister with details of all students who are registered with the institution at the start of each academic year.

Part V gives authority to social welfare inspectors to calculate or estimate the amount of reckonable earnings of a person who is engaged in insurable employment for the purpose of determining the amount of PRSI contribution due by his employer. Where an inspector has made such an estimate or calculation and determined the amount of PRSI contribution to be due a demand is issued in writing to the employer for the payment of this amount and this amount must be remitted to the inspector within 14 days.

Part VI imposes fines and penalties on employers or persons who fail to comply with the provisions of Part V.