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5 1992

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.

Disability benefit (period of disqualification).

33. —Section 22 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (2) of the following subsection:

“(2A) For the purposes of this section, any period in respect of which a person is disqualified for receiving disability benefit by virtue of subsection (1) of section 23 shall be treated as though it were a period in respect of which disability benefit was paid.”.

Discontinuance of pay-related benefit for periods of incapacity for work.

34. —(1) Section 72 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for subsection (1) (as amended by section 11 of the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1987 ) of the following subsection:

“(1) Subject to this Chapter, a person who had reckonable earnings in the relevant income tax year shall be entitled to pay-related benefit in respect of any day which is a day of unemployment which forms part of a period of interruption of employment and in respect of which the person is entitled to unemployment benefit and which is not earlier than the 19th day of unemployment in the period of interruption of employment.”, and

(b) the deletion of subsection (2).

(2) Section 73 (as amended by section 16 of the Act of 1991 and section 9 ) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the deletion of “, for any part of that period up to the 393rd day of incapacity for work or”.

(3) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for section 74 of the following section:

“74. (1) In any period of interruption of employment a person shall not be entitled to pay-related benefit in respect of any day of unemployment after the 393rd day of unemployment in that period.

(2) In calculating for the purposes of section 73 and this section whether, in a period of interruption of employment, a person has had a specified number of days of unemployment, account shall be taken of only the first 18 days of unemployment in that period and any day of unemployment in that period in respect of which that person was entitled to pay-related benefit or would have been so entitled but for any condition prescribed for the purposes of section 73.”.

(4) This section shall come into operation on such day as the Minister may appoint by order.

(5) This section shall not apply to any period of interruption of employment in respect of incapacity for work in respect of which a person is in receipt of disability benefit (or would be in receipt of disability benefit but for the fact that injury benefit is payable to the person) and which commences before the date appointed for the commencement of this section.

Injury benefit (weekly rates).

35. —(1) Part I (inserted by section 3 of the Act of 1991) of the Second Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for “£65” of “£50” in column (2) at reference 3.

(2) Subsection (1) shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1992.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section or section 3 , in the case of a person who is entitled to or in receipt of injury benefit immediately before the 6th day of April, 1992, the weekly rate of injury benefit (exclusive of any increase thereof) shall be £65 for the injury benefit period.