Social Welfare Act, 2001

Assessment of means — improvements.

13.—(1) Part I of the Third Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) in Rule 1(2) (as amended by section 26 of the Act of 1997)—

(i) the insertion after subparagraph (h) of the following subparagraph:

“(hh) in the case of unemployment assistance, any moneys, subject to such limit as may be prescribed, received by way of repayment of expenses necessarily incurred in relation to travel and meals while undergoing a course of education, training or development approved by the Minister,”,

(ii) the insertion after subparagraph (k) of the following subparagraph:

“(kk) payments in respect of not more than two persons boarded out under section 10 of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990 , received from a health board or a person boarded out, in so far as the aggregate amount of payment received in respect of each person boarded out does not exceed an amount equivalent to the rate set out in column (2) at reference 4 of Part I of the Fourth Schedule,”,

and

(iii) the substitution for subparagraph (m) of the following subparagraph:

“(m) in such cases as may be prescribed, any moneys received by way of a maintenance grant under—

(i) a scheme administered by the Minister for Education and Science under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992, or

(ii) a scheme administered under the aegis of the Minister for Education and Science and known as the—

(I) Maintenance Grants Scheme for Students attending Post-Leaving Certificate Courses,

(II) Vocational Education Committees Scholarship Scheme, or

(III) Third-Level Maintenance Grants Scheme for Trainees,”,

and

(b) the insertion after Rule 2 of the following Rule:

“2A.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Schedule, for the purposes of disability allowance, the gross proceeds derived from the sale of the principal residence of the claimant or beneficiary or, in the case of a married couple who are living together, the spouse of the claimant or beneficiary shall not, subject—

(a) to such limit,

(b) to such conditions,

(c) in such circumstances, and

(d) for such periods,

as shall be prescribed, be taken into account in calculating the means of the claimant or beneficiary.

(2) In this Rule ‘gross proceeds derived from the sale of the principal residence’ means—

(a) the agreed sale price of the residence, or

(b) where the claimant or beneficiary purchases alternative accommodation, the difference between the agreed sale price of the former residence and the agreed purchase price of the replacement residence.

(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any sums arising from the investment or profitable use of the gross proceeds derived from the sale of the principal residence.”.

(2) Part II of the Third Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) in Rule 1(4) (as amended by section 26 of the Act of 1997)—

(i) the substitution in subparagraph (f) for clauses (ii) and (iii) of the following clauses:

“(ii) payments by a health board in respect of a child who is boarded out,

(iii) payments in respect of not more than two persons boarded out under section 10 of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990 , received from a health board or a person boarded out, in so far as the aggregate amount of payment received in respect of each person boarded out does not exceed an amount equivalent to the rate set out in column (2) at reference 4 of Part I of the Fourth Schedule, or

(iv) a mobility allowance payable under section 61 of the Health Act, 1970 , to the person,”,

(ii) the insertion after subparagraph (m) of the following subparagraph:

“(mm) in the case of one-parent family payment, any moneys, subject to such limit as may be prescribed, received by way of repayment of expenses necessarily incurred in relation to travel and meals while undergoing a course of education, training or development approved by the Minister,”,

and

(iii) the substitution for subparagraph (n) of the following subparagraph:

“(n) in the case of blind pension or one-parent family payment, any moneys received by way of a maintenance grant under—

(i) a scheme administered by the Minister for Education and Science under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992, or

(ii) a scheme administered under the aegis of the Minister for Education and Science and known as the—

(I) Maintenance Grants Scheme for Students attending Post-Leaving Certificate Courses,

(II) Vocational Education Committees Scholarship Scheme, or

(III) Third-Level Maintenance Grants Scheme for Trainees,”,

and

(b) the substitution in Rule 2(1) for “old age (non-contributory) pension” of “old age (non-contributory) pension or blind pension”.

(3) Rule 1(1) (as amended by section 26 of the Act of 1997) of Part III of the Third Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) the insertion after subparagraph (b) of the following subparagraph:

“(bb) payments in respect of not more than two persons boarded out under section 10 of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990 , received from a health board or a person boarded out, in so far as the aggregate amount of payment received in respect of each person boarded out does not exceed an amount equivalent to the rate set out in column (2) at reference 4 of Part I of the Fourth Schedule,”,

and

(b) the substitution for subparagraph (n) of the following subparagraph:

“(n) in such cases as may be prescribed, any moneys received by way of a maintenance grant under—

(i) a scheme administered by the Minister for Education and Science under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992, or

(ii) a scheme administered under the aegis of the Minister for Education and Science and known as the—

(I) Maintenance Grants Scheme for Students attending Post-Leaving Certificate Courses,

(II) Vocational Education Committees Scholarship Scheme, or

(III) Third-Level Maintenance Grants Scheme for Trainees,”.

(4) Rule 1(3) of Part IV of the Third Schedule (as inserted by section 16 of the Act of 1999) to the Principal Act is amended by—

(a) the insertion after subparagraph (j) of the following subparagraph:

“(jj) payments in respect of not more than two persons boarded out under section 10 of the Health (Nursing Homes) Act, 1990 , received from a health board or a person boarded out, in so far as the aggregate amount of payment received in respect of each person boarded out does not exceed an amount equivalent to the rate set out in column (2) at reference 4 of Part I of the Fourth Schedule,”,

and

(b) the substitution for subparagraph (l) of the following subparagraph:

“(l) in such cases as may be prescribed, any moneys received by way of a maintenance grant under—

(i) a scheme administered by the Minister for Education and Science under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992, or

(ii) a scheme administered under the aegis of the Minister for Education and Science and known as the—

(I) Maintenance Grants Scheme for Students attending Post-Leaving Certificate Courses,

(II) Vocational Education Committees Scholarship Scheme, or

(III) Third-Level Maintenance Grants Scheme for Trainees,”.

(5) This section, other than subsections (1)(a)(iii), (2)(a)(iii), (3)(b) and (4)(b) comes into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance, pre-retirement allowance and farm assist, on 28 March 2001,

(b) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on 2 April 2001,

(c) in so far as it relates to disability allowance, on 4 April 2001,

(d) in so far as it relates to one-parent family payment (other than where payable in respect of a widow or widower), carer's allowance and a relevant payment by virtue of section 18(1)(b) or (c) of the Act of 1996, on 5 April 2001, and

(e) in so far as it relates to old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's and widower's (non-contributory) pension, one-parent family payment payable in respect of a widow or widower and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on 6 April 2001.

(6) Subsections (1)(a)(iii), (2)(a)(iii), (3)(b) and (4)(b) of this section come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.