Social Welfare Act, 2001

PART 4

Miscellaneous Provisions

One-parent family payment — transitional arrangements and assessment of maintenance payments.

21.—(1) Section 158 (as amended by section 31 of the Act of 1999) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution for subsection (4) of the following subsection:

“(4) Regulations may, subject to such conditions and in such circumstances and for such periods as may be prescribed, entitle to one-parent family payment a qualified parent who, having been in receipt of the said payment for a period of 52 consecutive weeks, ceases to be entitled thereto by virtue of having earnings in excess of the amount specified in subsection (3).”.

(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1) of this section shall not operate so as to disentitle any person who, at the commencement of this section, is entitled to or in receipt of a payment by virtue of regulations under section 158(4) of the Principal Act but this subsection shall, as respects that person, have effect only for the duration of that person's continuous entitlement to the said payment under the said section 158(4).

(3) Rule 1(4) (as amended by section 13 of this Act) of Part II of the Third Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by the substitution for subparagraph (s) (as amended by section 26 of the Act of 1997) of the following subparagraph:

“(s) for the purposes of one-parent family payment, moneys received by way of maintenance payments (including maintenance payments made to or in respect of a qualified child) in so far as they do not exceed the annual housing costs actually incurred by the qualified parent subject to such maximum amount as may be prescribed, together with one-half of any amount of maintenance payment in excess of the amount disregarded in respect of housing costs actually incurred (if any) and for this purpose—

‘housing costs’ means rent or repayment of a loan entered into solely for the purpose of defraying money employed in the purchase, repair or essential improvement of the residence in which the qualified parent is, for the time being, residing;

‘maintenance payments’ means any payment received under or pursuant to such maintenance arrangement as may be prescribed,”.