Social Welfare Act, 1997
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Adoptive benefit (self-employed contributors). |
11.—(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Chapter 8B (inserted by section 11 of the Act of 1995) of Part II of the following Chapter: | |
“CHAPTER 8B | ||
Adoptive Benefit | ||
Entitlement to and duration of adoptive benefit. | ||
41G.—(1) In this Chapter— | ||
‘adopting parent’— | ||
(a) in the case of an employed contributor, has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (1) of the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995 , and | ||
(b) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment means— | ||
(i) a woman in whose care a child (of whom she is not the natural mother) has been placed or is to be placed with a view to the making of an adoption order, or to the effecting of a foreign adoption or following any such adoption, | ||
(ii) a man, in whose care a child has been placed or is to be placed with a view to the making of an adoption order, or to the effecting of a foreign adoption or following any such adoption, where the woman in whose care the child (of whom she is not the natural mother) has been placed or is to be placed has died, and | ||
(iii) a man, other than a man to whom subparagraph (ii) applies, in whose sole care a child has been placed or is to be placed with a view to making an adoption order, or to the effecting of a foreign adoption or following any such adoption, | ||
‘certificate of placement’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 13 of the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995 , ‘day of placement’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (1) of the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995 , | ||
‘foreign adoption’ has the meaning assigned to it by the Adoption Act, 1991 . | ||
(2) Subject to this Act, an adopting parent shall be entitled to adoptive benefit if— | ||
(a) (i) in the case of an employed contributor, it is certified by the adopting parent's employer that the adopting parent is entitled to adoptive leave under the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995 , or | ||
(ii) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment, a ‘certificate of placement’ is issued to the adopting parent, and | ||
(b) the adopting parent satisfies the contribution conditions in section 41H. | ||
(3) Regulations may provide for entitling to adoptive benefit, subject to such conditions and in such circumstances as may be prescribed, such class or classes of adopting parents who would be entitled thereto but for the fact that the contribution conditions in section 41H are not satisfied. | ||
(4) Subject to this Chapter, adoptive benefit shall be payable— | ||
(a) in the case of an employed contributor, for the period of adoptive leave to which the adopting parent is entitled under section 6 or 9, as the case may be, of the Adoptive Leave Act, 1995 , | ||
(b) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment, being— | ||
(i) an adopting parent within the meaning of section 41G (1) (b) (i) or (iii), for the period of 10 consecutive weeks commencing on the day of placement, or | ||
(ii) an adopting parent within the meaning of section 41G (1) (b) (ii), where the adopting mother dies before the day of placement, the period of 10 consecutive weeks commencing on the day of placement or where the adopting mother dies on or after the day of placement, for a period of 10 weeks less a period equivalent to the period beginning on the day of placement and ending on the date of her death: | ||
Provided that, where the beneficiary dies, the benefit shall not be payable for any subsequent day. | ||
(5) For the purposes of this section, a Sunday shall not in any week be treated as a day of entitlement to adoptive benefit and, accordingly, the amount payable by way of such benefit for any other day of a week shall be one-sixth of the appropriate weekly rate, subject to the total amount being paid at any time by virtue of this subsection being rounded up to the nearest 10p where it is a multiple of 5p but not also a multiple of 10p, and being rounded to the nearest 10p where it is not a multiple of 5p or 10p. | ||
(6) In the case of an employed contributor, where the employment ceases (whether due to the death of the employer or otherwise) during the period for which adoptive benefit is payable in accordance with subsection (4), the beneficiary shall continue to be treated as if the event which caused the cesser of employment had not occurred. | ||
(7) Regulations may provide for requiring an employer or any other person to furnish such information as may be required for the purposes of determining a claim for adoptive benefit. | ||
Conditions for receipt. | ||
41H.—(1) The contribution conditions for adoptive benefit are— | ||
(a) in the case of an employed contributor— | ||
(i) (A) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the period beginning with the claimant's entry into insurance and ending immediately before the relevant day, and | ||
(B) that the claimant has qualifying contributions or credited contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant day occurs or in a subsequent complete contribution year before the relevant day, or | ||
(ii) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the 12 months immediately preceding the relevant day, or having been in insurable self-employment she satisfies the contributions in subsection (1) (b), | ||
(b) in the case of a person in insurable self-employment, that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 52 contribution weeks in the last complete contribution year or in the second last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant day occurs, or where the claimant was previously an employed contributor that she satisfies the contribution conditions in subsection (1) (a). | ||
(2) In subsection (1), ‘relevant day’ means the first day for which adoptive benefit is claimed. | ||
Rates of adoptive benefit. | ||
41I.—(1) Subject to this Act, the weekly rate of adoptive benefit shall be an amount equal to— | ||
(a) 70 per cent. of the reckonable weekly earnings, reckonable weekly emoluments or reckonable weekly income, as the case may be, of the adopting parent to whom the benefit is payable in the income tax year prescribed for the purposes of this section, or | ||
(b) the amount of disability benefit, including any increases thereof, which the adopting parent would otherwise receive if entitled to the said benefit, or | ||
(c) such amount as shall be prescribed, | ||
whichever is the greater. | ||
(2) In this section ‘reckonable weekly earnings’, ‘reckonable weekly emoluments’ and ‘reckonable weekly income’ mean the average amount, calculated in accordance with regulations, of reckonable earnings, reckonable emoluments, reckonable income and such other income received in a week as may be prescribed up to such limit as may be prescribed. | ||
Disqualification. | ||
41J.—Regulations may provide for disqualifying an adopting parent for receiving adoptive benefit if, during the period for which the benefit is payable, the adopting parent engages in any occupation other than domestic activities in that parent's own household.”. | ||
(2) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may appoint by order. |