Social Welfare Act, 1952

SIXTH SCHEDULE.

Amendments of Certain Enactments.

Section 68.

Part I.

Amendments of Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933 (No. 46 of 1933).

1. The following paragraph shall be substituted for paragraph (f) of subsection (3) of section 10 and for paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 15:—

“(f) in the case of a widow or spinster who has no dependant, that not less than fifty-two contributions have been paid in respect of her during the appropriate period.

Each of the following and no other shall be a contribution for the purposes of this paragraph:—

(i) a contribution under the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 to 1952,

(ii) an employment contribution at the ordinary rate under the Social Welfare Act, 1952.

In this paragraph, the expression ‘the appropriate period’ means—

(I) in case the date of the relevant application falls in the first, second, third or fourth contribution year under the Social Welfare Act, 1952—the period of four years ending immediately before that contribution year, and

(II) in any other case—the period of four contribution years under that Act ending immediately before the contribution year under that Act in which the date of the application falls.”

2. The following subparagraph shall be added after subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 13:—

“(vii) any moneys received by way of disability benefit, unemployment benefit, marriage benefit or maternity benefit under the Social Welfare Act, 1952.”

3. The following subsections shall be substituted for subsections (1) and (2) of section 21:—

“(1) The Umpire for the purposes of this Act shall be a person appointed in that behalf by the Minister.

(2) The remuneration of the Umpire shall be determined by the Minister for Finance.

(2A) Regulations made by the Minister under this Act may provide for the appointment by the Minister of a person to act in the place of the Umpire in the case of the unavoidable absence or incapacity of the Umpire.

(2B) A court of referees for the purposes of this Act shall consist of one or more members chosen to represent employers, with an equal number of members chosen to represent persons insured under the Social Welfare Act, 1952, and a chairman appointed by the Minister.

(2C) Regulations made by the Minister under this Act may provide that any application or question which is reported or referred to a court of referees may, with the consent of the applicant or the person or association in whose case the question arises, but not otherwise, be proceeded with in the absence of any member or members of the court other than the chairman, and in any such case the court shall, notwithstanding anything in this Act, be deemed to be properly constituted, and the chairman shall, if the number of the members is an even number, have a second or casting vote.

(2D) Panels of persons chosen to represent employers and persons insured under the Social Welfare Act, 1952, respectively shall be constituted by the Minister for such districts and such trades or groups of trades as the Minister may think fit, and the members of a court of referees to be chosen to represent employers and persons insured under the Social Welfare Act, 1952, shall be selected from those panels in the prescribed manner.

(2E) Subject as aforesaid, the constitution of courts of referees shall be determined by regulations under this Act.

(2F) The Minister may pay such remuneration to the chairman and other members of a court of referees, and such travelling and other allowances (including, subject as hereinafter provided, compensation for loss of remunerative time) to any such chairman or members or to any persons required to attend before any such court, and such other expenses in connection with any referees, as the Minister with the sanction of the Minister for Finance determines:

Provided that compensation for loss of time shall not be paid to any person in respect of any time during which he is in receipt of remuneration under this section.”

Part II.

Amendment of Unemployment Assistance (Amendment) Act, 1935 (No. 38 of 1935).

The following word and subparagraph shall be added after subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 9:—

“or

(v) any disability benefit, unemployment benefit, maternity allowance or widow's (contributory) pension under the Social Welfare Act, 1952”.

Part III.

Amendments of Insurance (Intermittent Unemployment) Act, 1942 (No. 7 of 1942).

1. The following subsection shall be substituted for subsection (4) of section 10:—

“(4) (a) Provision may be made by rules of Court for regulating appeals and references to the High Court under this section and those rules shall provide for limiting the time within which an appeal may be brought and for the determination in a summary manner of any such appeals or references, and for requiring notice of any such appeals to be given to the Minister.

(b) During the period between the repeal by the Social Welfare Act, 1952, of subsection (3) of section 10 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920, and the making of rules pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection, the rules of Court which immediately before the said repeal applied by virtue of the said subsection for regulating appeals and references to the High Court shall apply to appeals and references to the High Court under this section.”

2. In subsection (2) of section 30 the words “the current insurance card issued to him under the Social Welfare Act, 1952” shall be substituted for the words “the current unemployment book issued to him under the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920”.

3. The following subsection shall be substituted for subsection (4) of section 30:—

“(4) Where the current insurance card issued under the Social Welfare Act, 1952, of an insured person is not in the possession of his employer on a particular day, and a local officer certifies that such card was not delivered to a local office in connection with a claim to unemployment benefit under the Social Welfare Act, 1952, or an application for unemployment assistance under the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933 (No. 46 of 1933), in respect of that day, such card shall, for the purposes of the second statutory condition, be deemed to have been in the possession of such employer on that day.”

4. In subsections (1) and (2) of section 38 the words “ Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933 ” shall be substituted for the words “Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920”.

5. In paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 39 the words “a deciding officer for the purposes of the Social Welfare Act, 1952” shall be substituted for “an insurance officer for the purposes of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920”.

6. In subsection (4) of section 43 the words “the current insurance card issued under the Social Welfare Act, 1952” shall be substituted for the words “the current unemployment book issued under the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920”.

7. In section 44 and in subsection (2) of section 48 the words “Social Welfare Act, 1952” shall be substituted for the words “Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920”.

8. In paragraph 1 of the First Schedule the words “in any pensionable office, situation or employment in a permanent capacity” shall be substituted for the words “or public board excluded for the time being from the provisions of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920, by the operation of a special order made under paragraph (c) of Part I of the First Schedule to the said Act”.

9. Paragraph 2 of the First Schedule shall be deleted.