Social Welfare Act, 1997

Liability to maintain family.

29.—(1) Section 247 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1) Subject to this Act, every question to which this section applies shall, save where the context otherwise requires, be decided by a deciding officer.”, and

(b) the substitution in subsection (1) for paragraph (dd) (inserted by section 7(3) of the Act of 1996) and (e) of the following paragraphs:

“(e) Part VA (continued payment for qualified children),

(f) Part VI (general provisions relating to social insurance, social assistance and insurability), and

(g) Part IX (liability to maintain family).”.

(2) Section 284(1) (as amended by section 19 of the Act of 1996) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for the definition of “allowance” and “order of the Court” of the following definitions:

“‘allowance’ means one-parent family payment, supplementary welfare allowance or a relevant payment payable by virtue of section 18 (1)(b) of the Social Welfare Act, 1996 ;”,

“‘order of the Court’ means a maintenance order (including maintenance specified in the order to be in respect of a child), including a lump sum order, a variation order or an interim order, made by a court under the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1964 , the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act, 1976 , the Status of Children Act, 1987 , the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act, 1989 , the Family Law Act, 1995 or under any other enactment relating to maintenance, as the case may be, or an order of the court made on foot of a separation agreement;”,

(b) the insertion after the definition of “earnings” of the following definition—

“‘husband’ in relation to a woman who has been married more than once, refers only to her last husband and for this purpose that last husband shall be construed as including the man to whom, but for the fact the marriage has been dissolved, being a dissolution recognised as valid in the State, she would be married;”, and

(c) the insertion after the definition of “order of the Court” of the following definition—

“‘wife’ in relation to a man who has been married more than once, refers only to his last wife and for this purpose that last wife shall be construed as including the woman to whom, but for the fact that the marriage has been dissolved, being a dissolution recognised as valid in the State, he would be married.”.

(3) Section 286 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in subsection (1) for “that authority may determine” of “may be determined”, and

(b) the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1A) Subject to subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of this Part to provide for the basis on which the amount which a liable relative, within the meaning of section 286(2), is liable to contribute by virtue of section 286(1) is determined, and for this purpose the regulations may—

(a) disregard in whole or in part any amount of the income of a liable relative from any source specified in the regulations, and

(b) require an employer or any other person to furnish such information as may be required for the purposes of determining the amount which a liable relative is required to contribute.”.

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