Social Welfare Act, 1996

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Continued payment for qualified children.

7.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after Part V of the following Part:

“PART VA

Continued Payment for Qualified Children

Entitlement to payment.

203A.—(1) Subject to this Act, a continued payment for qualified children (in this Part referred to as a ‘continued payment’) shall be payable out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas to a person, other than a person who is engaged in short-time employment, who—

(a) has been in receipt of unemployment benefit, unemployment assistance, or unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance for not less than 312 days in—

(i) a period of interruption of employment, within the meaning of section 42 (4) (c), where the person is in receipt of unemployment benefit, or

(ii) a continuous period of unemployment, within the meaning of section 120 (3), where the person is in receipt of unemployment assistance,

in the immediately preceding period,

(b) is in receipt of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance which includes an increase in respect of at least one qualified child, who normally resides with the person, and is not a person to whom section 45 (3) or section 124 (1) (as the case may require) applies, and

(c) ceases to be entitled to unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance by virtue of having become engaged in employment which is expected to continue for a period of a minimum of 4 weeks.

(2) In this Part, ‘employment’ means insurable employment or insurable self-employment, other than—

(a) employment under a scheme administered by An Foras Áiseanna Saothair and known as Community Employment,

(b) employment under any scheme which is funded by An Foras Áiseanna Saothair, or

(c) employment of a seasonal nature.

The Weekly rate of payment.

203B.—The weekly rate of continued payment shall be the amount payable to the person by way of an increase in unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance (as the case may require) in respect of each qualified child normally residing with the person immediately prior to that person taking up employment:

Provided that, in the case of a person who immediately prior to taking up employment was in receipt of unemployment assistance, if the rate calculated pursuant to this section exceeds the rate of unemployment assistance which was payable to the person, the continued payment shall be payable at the said rate of unemployment assistance.

Period of payment.

203C.—A continued payment shall be payable for the period during which the person is engaged in employment, up to a maximum of 13 weeks, beginning on the date on which it is receivable in accordance with regulations and the weekly rate of continued payment shall not be affected by any change of circumstances during that period.

Disqualification.

203D.—(1) Except as provided for in subsection (2), receipt of a continued payment by a person shall be a disqualification for the receipt by that person of family income supplement.

(2) Where a person is in receipt of or entitled to a continued payment and would but for subsection (1) be qualified for the receipt of family income supplement, the person may be paid the family income supplement for any period during which the rate of supplement payable would be greater than the rate of continued payment and the Minister may reduce any such supplement which is or may become payable to such person by the amount of the continued payment which shall be treated as having been paid on account of the family income supplement.

Regulations.

203E.—(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 generality of subsection (1), require employers to furnish such information as the Minister may require for the purpose of determining a claim for a continued payment.”.

(2) Section 209 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (7) of the following subsections:

“(7A) Where a continued payment for qualified children under Part VA is payable to a person for any period, any child who is regarded as a qualified child of that person shall not, for the said period, be regarded as a qualified child for the purposes of entitling any person to an increase in benefit or assistance under this Act.

(7B) In the case of a person who is participating in an initiative administered by the Minister and known as Back-to-Work Allowance and who is not entitled to, or in receipt of, family income supplement, any sums paid by way of a continued payment for qualified children under Part VA shall be treated as paid on account of the allowance payable under the Back-to-Work Allowance initiative.”.

(3) Each provision of the Principal Act mentioned in column (1) of Schedule C to this Act is hereby amended in the manner specified in column (2) of that Schedule opposite the mention of that provision in column (1).

(4) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may appoint by order.