Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1993

Disability benefit (conditions for receipt and duration of payment).

7.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for paragraph (c) of section 32 (1) of the following paragraph:

“(c) that the claimant has—

(i) prescribed reckonable weekly earnings, or

(ii) in the case of a person who qualifies for disability benefit by virtue of having paid optional contributions, prescribed reckonable weekly income,

in excess of a prescribed amount in the prescribed period.”,

and

(b) the insertion after section 35 of the following section:

“Duration of payment (optional contributors).

35A.—(a) Notwithstanding section 35, where in any period of interruption of employment a person, having satisfied the contribution conditions contained in section 32 by virtue of having paid optional contributions, has been entitled to disability benefit for 312 days, he shall not be entitled to the said benefit for any subsequent day of incapacity for work unless before that day he hasrequalified for benefit in accordance with paragraph (b).

(b) Where a person to whom paragraph (a) applies has paid optional contributions in the contribution year following the benefit year which includes the said 312th day, he shall requalify for disability benefit in the benefit year subsequent to the contribution year in respect of which the said optional contributions have been paid.”.