Social Welfare Act, 1992

PART VIII

Disability and Occupational Injury Benefit

Qualifying conditions for disability benefit.

32.—(1) Section 19 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) (as amended by section 17 of the Act of 1991) of the following subsections:

“(1) The contribution conditions for disability benefit are—

(a) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the period between his entry into insurance and the day for which the benefit is claimed, and

(b) that the claimant has qualifying contributions or credited contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks, of which at least 13 must be qualifying contributions, in the last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year which includes the day for which the benefit is claimed.

(1A) Regulations may provide for entitling to disability benefit, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, such class or classes of persons as would be entitled thereto but for the fact that the requirement in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) that there must be qualifying contributions in respect of at least 13 contribution weeks in the last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year which includes the day for which the benefit is claimed is not satisfied.”.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may appoint by order.

(3) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to any claim for disability benefit where the period of incapacity for work commences before the day appointed for the commencement of that subsection.

(4) Section 19 of the Principal Act is hereby further amended—

(a) by the substitution for subsection (1) (inserted by subsection(1) and in this section referred to as an “existing subsection”) of the following subsection:

“(1) The contribution conditions for disability benefit are—

(a) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the period between his entry into insurance and the day for which the benefit is claimed, and

(b) that the claimant has qualifying contributions or credited contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks, of which at least 13 must be qualifying contributions, in the last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year which includes the day for which the benefit is claimed, and

(c) that the claimant has prescribed reckonable weekly earnings in excess of a prescribed amount in the prescribed period.”, and

(b) by the substitution for subsections (4) and (5) (each of which is referred to in this section as an “existing subsection”) of the following subsections:

“(4) Subject to subsection (5), regulations may provide for entitling to disability benefit persons who would be entitled thereto but for the fact that the condition set out in subsection (1) (c) is not satisfied.

(5) Regulations for the purposes of subsection (4) shall provide that benefit payable by virtue thereof shall be payable at a rate less than that specified in the Second Schedule, and the rate specified by the regulations may vary with the extent to which the condition set out in subsection (1) (c) is satisfied.”.

(5) Subsection (4) shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders and different days may be so appointed for the coming into operation of the subsection as respects different provisions of the subsections inserted in section 19 of the Principal Act by the subsection and where an order under this subsection relates to part or parts only of the said subsections, the order may provide for the repeal of specified provisions of an existing subsection on a specified day or days.

(6) Section 18 of the Act of 1991 is hereby repealed.