PART IV

Social Insurance Contributions

16. —(1) Section 10 (1) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in paragraph (c) (inserted by section 7 of the Act of 1992) of “£21,300” for “£20,300”, and

(b) the substitution in paragraph (cc) (inserted by section 7 of the Act of 1992) of “£20,000” for “£19,000”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1993.

17. —(1) Section 17C of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in paragraphs (a), (c) and (i) (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 1991) of “£250” for “£234”,

(b) the substitution in paragraph (b) (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 1991) of “£124” for “£116”, and

(c) the substitution in paragraph (d) (inserted by section 8 of the Act of 1992) of “£20,000” for “£19,000”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1993.

18. —The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after section 10 (as amended by section 7 of the Act of 1992) of the following section:

“10A.—An employer who, during the period commencing on the 19th day of October, 1992, and ending on the 19th day of September, 1993, employed additional employees under and by virtue of the scheme administered by the Department of Social Welfare known as the Employers' Pay-Related Social Insurance Exemption Scheme, shall not, during the period commencing on the 6th day of April, 1993, and ending on the 5th day of April, 1995, be liable to pay in respect of additional employees who constitute a net increase in the employer's workforce under the scheme above that applying on the 9th day of September, 1992, all or any of the following, namely—

(a) the contribution specified in section 10 (1) (b) (ii) of this Act;

(b) the health contribution payable by an employer under section 5 (1) (b) of the Health Contributions Act, 1979 ;

(c) the employment and training levy payable by an employer under section 16 (c) of the Youth Employment Agency Act, 1981 (as extended by section 25 of the Labour Services Act, 1987 ).”.

19. —Section 15 (2) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (a) of the following paragraph:

“(a) the assignment of any function relating to any matter referred to in that subsection to the Collector-General or to such other person engaged under contract by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, for this purpose,”.

20. —(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion after section 79 (as amended by section 10 of the Act of 1992) of the following section:

“79A.—(1) A person, having been a self-employed contributor, shall not be regarded as having satisfied the contribution conditions contained in section 79 unless all self-employment contributions payable by him in accordance with section 17C have been paid.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Minister may, if he is satisfied that in all the circumstances of the case it would be appropriate to do so, direct that subsection (1) shall not be applied in that case.”,

(b) the insertion after section 93A (inserted by section 14 of the Act of 1988) of the following section:

“93B.—(1) Where the insurance record of a person, who, having been a self-employed contributor, is being used to establish entitlement to widow's (contributory) pension, the contribution conditions contained in section 93 shall not be regarded as having been satisfied unless all self-employment contributions payable by him in accordance with section 17C have been paid.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Minister may, if he is satisfied that in all the circumstances of the case it would be appropriate to do so, direct that subsection (1) shall not be applied in that case.”.

(2) This section shall apply to any claim for pension under Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 of Part II of the Principal Act, made on or after the 6th day of April, 1993.

21. —Part IIA (as amended by section 37 of the Act of 1990) of the First Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph 2 of the following paragraph:

“2. A self-employed contributor who—

(a) by virtue of the provisions of Chapter 2 of Part III is in receipt of unemployment assistance, or

(b) by virtue of the provisions of Chapter 2A of Part III is in receipt of pre-retirement allowance.”.