PART VI

Other Social Assistance Improvements

22. —(1) Section 191B (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 1996) is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (3) of the following subsections:

“(3) Subject to subsection (3A), a person shall not be entitled to receive disability allowance for any period during which that person is resident in an institution, except and insofar as that person, being a beneficiary, is admitted to such institution for the purposes of undergoing medical or other treatment of a temporary nature therein for a period not exceeding 13 weeks.

(3A) Subject to this Chapter, regulations may, subject to such conditions and in such circumstances as may be prescribed, provide for entitling to disability allowance a person who would be entitled thereto but for the fact that he or she is resident in an institution, where the person is temporarily resident elsewhere for—

(i) a period of not less than two days a week, or

(ii) such other period as may be prescribed:

Provided that in the case of a person to whom paragraph (i) applies, disability allowance payable by virtue thereof shall be payable at a rate less than that specified in the Fourth Schedule.”.

(2) Section 191E (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 1996) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for “, old age (non-contributory) pension, retirement pension or invalidity pension” of “or retirement pension”.

(3) Section 231 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in subsection (1) after “Part II” of “or Part III”.

23. —(1) Section 163 (as amended by section 12 of the Act of 1995) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1A) The Minister may make regulations specifying the circumstances and conditions under which a person is to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention to a relevant pensioner.”.

(2) Section 165 (as amended by section 16 of the Act of 1994) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1) Subject to this Act, the rate (in this Chapter referred to as ‘the scheduled rate’) of carer's allowance shall be—

(a) in the case of a person who is a carer of more than one relevant pensioner, the weekly rate set out in column (2) at reference 6 (a) in Part I of the Fourth Schedule,

(b) in any other case, the weekly rate set out in column (2) at reference 6 (b) in Part I of the Fourth Schedule, increased by the appropriate amount set out in column (4) of that Part opposite that reference in respect of each qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary.”.

(3) This section shall come into operation on the 12th day of June, 1997.

24. —Section 127 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) (c) (inserted by section 25 of the Act of 1996) of the following paragraph:

“(c) (i) who has been in receipt of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance in respect of not less than 390 days of unemployment in any continuous period of unemployment in the immediately preceding period as construed in accordance with section 120 (3),

(ii) being a separated spouse, has not engaged in remunerative employment or self-employment at any time in such preceding period as may be prescribed, or

(iii) immediately before the week in respect of which pre-retirement allowance is claimed, was in receipt of—

(A) one-parent family payment, but has ceased to be entitled to such payment by virtue of no longer being regarded as a qualified parent within the meaning of section 157 (1), or

(B) carer's allowance, but has ceased to be entitled to such allowance by virtue of no longer being regarded as a carer within the meaning of section 163 (1).”.

25. —(1) Rule 1 (as amended by section 17 (3) of the Act of 1996) of Part II of the Third Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for “subject to paragraphs (2) and (3)” of “Subject to paragraphs (2A) and (3)”,

(b) the substitution for paragraphs (1) and (2) of the following paragraph:

“(1) other than in such circumstances and subject to such conditions and for such periods as may be prescribed, the yearly value of property belonging to the person (not being property personally used or enjoyed by the person or a farm of land leased by him or her) which is invested or is otherwise put to profitable use by the person or which, though capable of investment or profitable use is not invested or put to profitable use by the person, the yearly value of the property being calculated as follows:

(a) the first £2,000 of the capital value of the property shall be excluded,

(b) the yearly value of the next £20,000 of the capital value of the property shall be assessed at 7.5 per cent., and

(c) the yearly value of so much of the capital value of the property as exceeds £22,000 shall be assessed at 15 per cent.,

but no account shall be taken under any other provision of these Rules of any appropriation of the property for the purpose of current expenditure;”,

(c) the deletion in paragraph (2A) (inserted by section 17 of the Act of 1996) of “widow's (non-contributory) pension, orphan's (non-contributory) pension”, and

(d) the substitution for paragraph (3) of the following paragraph:

“(3) where, for the purposes of a relevant payment under the provisions of section 18 (1) (b) or (c) of the Social Welfare Act, 1996, the means are or include means assessed in accordance with paragraph (2A) and the means as so assessed are not less than £52, the means shall be taken to be increased by £52;”.

(2) The provisions of this section shall not have the effect of reducing the rate of assistance payable below the rate payable immediately before the commencement of this section.

26. —(1) The Third Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for paragraph (2)(as amended by section 15 of the Act of 1996) of Rule 1 of Part I of the following paragraph:

“(2) all income which he or his spouse may reasonably expect to receive during the succeeding year in cash, whether as contributions to the expenses of the household or otherwise, but excluding—

(a) such amount as may be prescribed of all moneys earned by his spouse from insurable employment,

(b) any moneys received by way of benefit, pension, assistance, allowance, supplement or continued payment for qualified children under Part II, III, IV, V or VA or by way of a payment corresponding to child benefit under Part IV, from another Member State,

(c) any income arising from a bonus under a scheme administered by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht for the making of special grants to parents or guardians resident in the Gaeltacht or Breac-Ghaeltacht (as defined in such scheme) of children attending primary schools,

(d) in the case of a qualified applicant under a scheme administered by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and known as Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, any income received under that scheme in respect of a person who is temporarily resident with the qualified applicant, together with any other income received in respect of such temporary resident,

(e) an amount of an allowance, dependant's allowance, disability pension or wound pension under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1980, or a combination of such allowances and such pensions so far as such amount does not exceed £80 per year,

(f) any moneys received from a charitable organisation, being a body whose activities are carried on otherwise than for profit (but excluding any public or local authority) and one of whose functions is to assist persons in need by making grants of money to them,

(g) such amount, as may be prescribed, of income from employment by a health board or by a person approved by a health board, as a home help,

(h) any moneys received by way of training allowance from an organisation while undergoing a course of rehabilitation training provided by the organisation (being an organisation approved of by the Minister for Health for the purposes of the provision of such training),

(i) any moneys, except so far as they exceed £104 per year, received by such person or by the spouse of such person in respect of work as an outworker under a scheme that is, in the opinion of the Minister, charitable in character and purpose,

(j) where he or his spouse is engaged on a seasonal basis in the occupation of fishing, one-half of so much of the income derived therefrom as does not exceed £120 per year and one-third of so much of such income as exceeds £120 per year but does not exceed £300 per year,

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

(l) other than in the case of disability allowance and subject to paragraph (7), all moneys earned by him or her in respect of current personal employment under a contract of service,

(m) in such cases as may be prescribed, any moneys received by way of a maintenance grant under a scheme administered by the Minister for Education under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992,

(n) any moneys received by way of a mobility allowance payable under section 61 of the Health Act, 1970 ,

(o) other than in the case of disability allowance, such income, as may be prescribed, arising from such activities as may be prescribed,

(p) other than in the case of disability allowance and subject to paragraph (6), any moneys derived from insurable employment of a seasonal nature,

(q) payments by a health board in respect of the provision of accommodation for a child under section 5 of the Child Care Act, 1991 ,

(r) other than in the case of disability allowance, all moneys received, except and in so far as they exceed such amount as may be prescribed, under a scheme administered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry and known as the Rural Environment Protection Scheme,

(s) in the case of disability allowance—

(i) any sums received by way of assistance in the maintenance at home of handicapped children under section 61 of the Health Act, 1970 , and known as domiciliary care allowance, and

(ii) such amount as may be prescribed of earnings from employment of a rehabilitative nature,

(t) such other income received by a person or his or her spouse as may be prescribed;”,

(b) the substitution for paragraph (5) of Rule 1 of Part I of the following paragraph:

“(5) other than in the case of disability allowance the yearly value, ascertained in the prescribed manner, of any benefit or privilege enjoyed by that person by virtue of residing with a parent or step-parent.”,

(c) the substitution for paragraph (4)(as amended by section 17 of the Act of 1996) of Rule 1 of Part II of the following paragraph:

“(4) all income in cash (including, in the case of widow's (non-contributory) pension, orphan's (non-contributory) pension and one-parent family payment, the net cash value of such non-cash benefits as may be prescribed), and such income received by a qualified child or qualified children as may be prescribed which the person may reasonably expect to receive during the year succeeding the date of calculation, but excluding—

(a) any sums arising from the investment or profitable use of property (not being property personally used or enjoyed by the person or a farm of land leased by him or her),

(b) any sums received by way of pension, benefit, allowance, assistance, supplement or continued payment for qualified children under Part II, III, IV, V or VA or by way of a payment, corresponding to child benefit under Part IV, from another Member State,

(c) any income arising from a bonus under a scheme administered by the Minister for Education for the making of special grants to parents or guardians resident in the Gaeltacht or Breac-Ghaeltacht (as defined in such scheme) of children attending primary schools,

(d) in the case of a qualified applicant under a scheme administered by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and known as Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, any income received under that scheme in respect of a person who is temporarily resident with the qualified applicant, together with any other income received in respect of such temporary resident,

(e) any moneys from a charitable organisation, being a body whose activities are carried on otherwise than for profit (but excluding any public or local authority) and one of whose functions is to assist persons in need by making grants of money to them,

(f) any income arising by way of—

(i) infectious diseases maintenance allowance to or in respect of the person or the person's dependants,

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

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

(g) subject to Rule 5, an amount of an allowance, dependant's allowance, disability pension or wound pension under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1980 (including, for the purposes of this subparagraph, a British war pension) or of a combination of such allowances and such pensions except so far as such amount exceeds £80 per year,

(h) in the case of a blind person—

(i) his earnings (including wages and profit from any form of self-employment) other than employment of a rehabilitative nature, as a blind person except and in so far as the annual amount of such earnings is calculated to exceed an amount made up as follows—

£312, plus £208 if his or her spouse is living with or is wholly or mainly maintained by him or her or, being a single person, widow or widower, is maintaining wholly or mainly a person over the age of 16 years having the care of one or more than one qualified child who normally resides or reside with him or her, plus £104 for each qualified child normally residing with him or her of whom account has not already been taken in accordance with this paragraph in calculating the means of another person,

(ii) such amount as may be prescribed of his or her earnings from employment of a rehabilitative nature, or

(iii) any income arising from a grant or allowance in pursuance of a scheme for promoting the welfare of the blind prepared under section 2 of the Blind Persons Act, 1920,

(i) in the case of a person who is not a blind person or a qualified parent within the meaning of section 157, and who has a qualified child who normally resides with him or her, his or her earnings (including wages and profit from any form of self-employment), except and in so far as the annual amount of such earnings is calculated to exceed £104 for each such child of whom account has not already been taken in accordance with this paragraph in calculating the means of another person,

(j) in the case of a qualified parent, within the meaning of section 157, who has earnings (including wages and profit from any form of self-employment), an annual amount of such gross earnings of £6,000 together with one-half of the amount of that parent's gross earnings, if any, in excess of that amount,

(k) in the case of a person who is not a blind person, any moneys, except so far as they exceed £52 per year, received by the person in respect of employment as an outworker under a scheme that is, in the opinion of the Minister, charitable in character and purpose,

(l) such amount, as may be prescribed, of income from employment by a health board or by a person approved by a health board, as a home help,

(m) any moneys received by way of a training allowance from an organisation while undergoing a course of rehabilitation training provided by the organisation (being an organisation approved by the Minister for Health for the purposes of the provision of such training),

(n) in the case of blind pension or one-parent family payment, any moneys received by way of a maintenance grant under a scheme administered by the Minister for Education under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992,

(o) such income, as may be prescribed, arising from such activities as may be prescribed,

(p) payments by a health board in respect of the provision of accommodation for a child under section 5 of the Child Care Act, 1991 ,

(q) in the case of old age (non-contributory) pension, all moneys received, except and in so far as they exceed such amount as may be prescribed, under a scheme administered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry and known as the Rural Environment Protection Scheme,

(r) in the case of a person who has attained pensionable age, any moneys received under a scheme administered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry and known as the Early Retirement Scheme from Farming operated under Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2079/92 of 30 July 1992^* ,

(s) for the purposes of one-parent family payment, any moneys received by way of maintenance payments (including maintenance payments made to or in respect of a qualified child) except and in so far as they exceed the annual housing costs actually incurred by the qualified parent, subject to such maximum amount as shall be prescribed and for this purpose—

‘housing costs’ means rent or repayment of a loan entered into solely for the purpose of defraying money employed in the purchase, repair or essential improvement of the residence in which the qualified parent is, for the time being, residing; and

‘maintenance payments’ means any payment received under or pursuant to such maintenance arrangement as may be prescribed,

(t) for the purposes of old age (non-contributory) pension, any moneys in respect of rent received from a person who resides with the applicant and but for the residence of such person the applicant would reside alone,

(u) such other income received by a person or his or her spouse as may be prescribed,

and such income shall, in the absence of other means for ascertaining it, be taken to be that actually received during the year immediately preceding the date of calculation:

Provided that, where such income is attributable to a period prior to the year immediately preceding the date of calculation but is received in a subsequent year, it shall be regarded for the purposes of this paragraph as having been received in the year to which it is attributable;”, and

(d) the substitution for paragraph (1)(as amended by section 37 of the Act of 1996) of Rule 1 of Part III of the following paragraph:

“(1) all income in cash, including the net cash value of any non-cash earnings derived from personal exertions and the actual or estimated amount of any household income, whether as contributions to the expenses of the household or otherwise, but excluding—

(a) any sums received by way of child benefit under Part IV or a payment corresponding to the said benefit from another Member State,

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

(c) in the case of a qualified applicant under a scheme administered by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and known as Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, any income received under that scheme in respect of a person who is temporarily resident with the qualified applicant, together with any other income received in respect of such temporary resident,

(d) any sums received by way of allowance for domiciliary care of handicapped children under section 61 of the Health Act, 1970 ,

(e) any sums arising from the investment or profitable use of property (not being property personally used or enjoyed by such person or a farm of land leased by him or her),

(f) any moneys received from a charitable organisation, being a body whose activities are carried on otherwise than for profit (but excluding any public or local authority) and one of whose functions is to assist persons in need by making grants of money to them,

(g) such amount, as may be prescribed, of income from employment by a health board or by a person approved by a health board, as a home help,

(h) any moneys received by way of a training allowance from an organisation while undergoing a course of rehabilitation training provided by the organisation (being an organisation approved of by the Minister for Health for the purposes of the provision of such training),

(i) any moneys received by way of a mobility allowance payable under section 61 of the Health Act, 1970 ,

(j) such income, as may be prescribed, arising from such activities as may be prescribed,

(k) any income arising from a grant or allowance in pursuance of a scheme for promoting the welfare of the blind prepared under section 2 of the Blind Persons Act, 1920,

(l) payments by a health board in respect of the provision of accommodation for a child under section 5 of the Child Care Act, 1991 ,

(m) such amount, as may be prescribed, of earnings from employment of a rehabilitative nature,

(n) in such cases as may be prescribed, any moneys received by way of a maintenance grant under a scheme administered by the Minister for Education under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992,

(o) such other income received by a person or his or her spouse as may be prescribed;”.

(2) Section 4 (4) (as amended by section 37 of the Act of 1996) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for “1 (2) (m), 1 (2) (u)” of “1 (2) (l), 1 (2) (t)”.

27. —This Part shall 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 purposes or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes and different provisions.

^*(O.J. No. L215, 30.7.92 p.91)