Number 3/1999: PART V Improvements in Social Welfare Schemes

3 1999

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1999

PART V

Improvements in Social Welfare Schemes

Bereavement grant.

19. —(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Chapter 19 of Part II of the following Chapter:

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“Chapter 19

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Bereavement Grant

Entitlement to grant.	114. (1) Subject to this Act, a bereavement grant shall be payable, to such person or persons as may be prescribed, on the death of—
	(a) (i) a pensioner,
	(ii) a qualified adult,
	(iii) a spouse of a pensioner,
	(iv) a qualified child in respect of whom an increase of pension specified in paragraphs (a) to (f) in the definition of ‘pensioner’ was being paid at the time of death,
	(v) an orphan, or
	(vi) a person to whom an orphan's (contributory) allowance is payable under section 109,
	or
	(b) (i) an insured person,
	(ii) the spouse of an insured person,
	(iii) the widow or widower of a deceased insured person, or
	(iv) a qualified child other than a qualified child referred to in paragraph (a)(iv),
	if the contribution conditions in section 115 are satisfied:
	Provided that only one bereavement grant shall be paid by virtue of this section on any one death.
	(2) In this Chapter—
	‘orphan’ means a person in respect of whom an orphan's (contributory) allowance is payable under Chapter 17;
	‘pensioner’ means a person who, at the time of his or her death, was in receipt of one of the following payments:
	(a) old age (contributory) pension,
	(b) retirement pension,
	(c) invalidity pension,
	(d) widow's (contributory) pension,
	(e) widower's (contributory) pension, or
	(f) deserted wife's benefit, or
	would have been in receipt of one of the said payments but for receipt by the person of an old age (non-contributory) pension, a blind pension, a widow's or widower's (non-contributory) pension or a carer's allowance at a higher rate;
	‘qualified adult’ means a person in respect of whom an increase of benefit specified in paragraphs (a) to (c) in the definition of ‘pensioner’ was being paid at the time of death, or in respect of whom such an increase would have been payable but for the receipt by the qualified adult of an old age (non-contributory) pension, a blind pension or a carer's allowance in his or her own right;
	‘qualified child’, in section 114(1)(b), means a person—
	(a) who, at the date of death, is under the age of 18 years or over the age of 18 years and under the age of 22 years, and is receiving full-time education, the circumstances of which will be specified in regulations,
	(b) who is ordinarily resident in the State on that date, and
	(c) in respect of whose death the relevant contribution conditions for bereavement grant are not satisfied by such person's insurance or the insurance of such person's spouse;
	‘relevant date’ means the date of death of the deceased person or the date of death of the relevant insured person or the date of attainment of pensionable age of the relevant insured person, whichever occurs first, whether the deceased is the relevant insured person or not;
	‘relevant insured person’ means—
	(a) in case the deceased person was a qualified child—
	(i) the father or mother of such deceased person,
	(ii) the person with whom such deceased person at the date of death is determined, in accordance with regulations made under section 3(5), to have been normally residing or with whom he or she would have been normally so residing if he or she had not been committed to a reformatory or an industrial school, or
	(iii) the spouse of the person referred to in subparagraph (ii),
	or
	(b) in any other case, the deceased person or the spouse of the deceased person;
	‘yearly average’ means the average per contribution year of contribution weeks in respect of which the relevant insured person has qualifying contributions, voluntary contributions or credited contributions in the appropriate period specified in section 115(1)(b)(ii).
Conditions for receipt.	115. (1) The contribution conditions for a bereavement grant are that before the relevant date the relevant insured person has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than—
	(a) 156 contribution weeks since his or her entry into insurance, or
	(b) 26 contribution weeks since his or her entry into insurance, and
	(i) has qualifying contributions, voluntary contributions or credited contributions in respect of not less than 39 contribution weeks in the last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant date occurs, or
	(ii) has a yearly average of 39 qualifying contributions, voluntary contributions or credited contributions for the last 3 or 5 complete contribution years before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant date occurs, or
	(iii) has a yearly average of 26 qualifying contributions, voluntary contributions or credited contributions since his or her entry into insurance or the beginning of the contribution year commencing on the 6th day of April, 1979, (whichever is the later) and ending at the end of the last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant date occurs, or
	(iv) has a yearly average of 26 qualifying contributions, voluntary contributions or credited contributions since his or her entry into insurance or the beginning of the contribution year next following the 1st day of October, 1970, (whichever is the later) and ending at the end of the last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant date occurs.
	(2) Regulations may provide for modifications of the contribution conditions for receipt of bereavement grant.
	(3) Regulations may provide for modifications of the contribution conditions for bereavement grant in the case of a person who was an insured person on the 1st day of October, 1970, and who, during the year subsequent to that date, was absent from the State for any period or was credited with contributions in respect of any period of unemployment, incapacity for work or retirement or is or becomes a voluntary contributor paying contributions at the rate specified in section 22(1)(b)(ii).
Amount of grant.	116. Subject to this Act, the amount of bereavement grant shall be as set out in column (2) of Part V of the Second Schedule.”

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(2) The substitution in section 18(1)(g) for “or orphan's (contributory) allowance” of “or orphan's (contributory) allowance or bereavement grant”.

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(3) Each provision of the Principal Act mentioned in column (1) of Schedule E to this Act is hereby amended in the manner specified in column (2) of that Schedule opposite the mention of that provision in column (1).

(4) Every reference in the Principal Act and in any other enactment to death grant shall be construed as a reference to bereavement grant.

(5) The amendment effected by this section shall apply to any claim for bereavement grant where the death occurs on or after the 6th day of April, 1999.

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Disability allowance — extension of payment.

20. — Section 191B of the Principal Act (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 1996) is hereby amended by the substitution for subsections (3) and (3A) (inserted by section 22 of the Act of 1997) of the following subsections:

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“(3) Subject to subsections (3A) and (3B), a person shall not be entitled to receive disability allowance for any period during which that person is resident in an institution.

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(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—

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

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(ii) such other period as may be prescribed:

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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.

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(3B) Notwithstanding subsections (3) and (3A), where a person who, on or after the 1st day of August, 1999, being a beneficiary of disability allowance, is subsequently admitted to an institution, that person shall, if at the time of admittance to the institution, he or she would otherwise be entitled to receive disability allowance, continue to be so entitled.”.

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Pensions for self-employed — over age 56.

21. — Section 84 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

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(a) the insertion in subsection (2) after paragraph (d) of the following paragraph:

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“(e) In the case of a person who became a self-employed contributor for the first time on or after the 6th day of April, 1988, and was not previously an employed contributor under this Act or the National Health Insurance Acts 1911 to 1952, prior to becoming so insured, and who on or before the 6th day of April, 1988, had attained the age of 56 years but had not attained the age of 62 years, subsection (1)(a) shall be construed as if ‘62’ were substituted for ‘56’ for the purposes of qualifying for a pension under subsections (16) and (17).”,

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(b) the insertion after subsection (15) of the following sub-sections:

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“(16) Subject to subsection (17), a pension shall be payable in the case of a person who—

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(a) became a self-employed contributor for the first time on or after the 6th day of April, 1988, and who on or before that date had attained the age of 56 years and who fails to satisfy the contribution conditions at section 84(1)(c) or 84(7), or

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(b) satisfies the contribution condition at section 84(1)(a) by virtue of section 84(2)(e) and who, but for section 84(2)(e) fails to satisfy the contribution conditions at section 84(1) or 84(7),

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and who has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 260 weeks since becoming a self-employed contributor.

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(17) The rate of pension payable in accordance with subsection (16) shall be payable at half the rate specified in column (2) at reference 3 of Part I of the Second Schedule and any increases payable under section 87 (1) or (2) shall be payable at half the rate specified in columns (3) and (4) at reference 3 of Part I of the Second Schedule.

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(18) The total amount payable by way of pension in accordance with subsections (16) and (17) shall be rounded up to the nearest 10p where it is a multiple of 5p but not also a multiple of 10p and shall be rounded to the nearest 10p where it is not a multiple of 5p or 10p.”,

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and

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Assessment of means — fishermen.

22. —Part I of the Third Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

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(a) the substitution in Rule 1 for paragraph (2)(j) (inserted by section 26(1) of the Act of 1997) of the following subparagraphs:

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“(j) where his or her 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,

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(jj) other than in the case of disability allowance, and subject to paragraph (8), any income derived by a fisherman from any form of self-employment,”,

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(b) the insertion in Rule 1 after paragraph (2)(l) (inserted by section 26(1) of the Act of 1997) of the following subparagraph:

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“(ll) other than in the case of disability allowance, any expenses necessarily incurred in carrying on any form of self-employment,”,

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“(8) in the case of a fisherman, the gross income derived from any form of self-employment less—

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(a) any expenses necessarily incurred in carrying on any form of self-employment, and

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(b) where the fisherman has a qualified child, who normally resides with him or her, an amount of—

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(i) £100 per annum in respect of each of the first two qualified children, and

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(ii) £200 per annum in respect of each subsequent qualified child,

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calculated at the rate of 80 per cent.”,

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and

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(d) the substitution for Rule 3 (inserted by section 16(3) of the Act of 1995) of the following Rule:

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“3. In this Schedule—

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‘fisherman’ means a person engaged in seafishing as a self-employed person—

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(a) on a fishing boat entered in the Register of Fishing Boats, or

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(b) on a fishing boat and in a place in respect of which a fishing licence (within the meaning of section 3 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 ) for fishing for salmon at sea has been issued;

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‘spouse’ means—

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(a) each person of a married couple who are living together, or

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(b) a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting together as husband and wife.”.

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Relevant payment —saver provision.

23. —Section 18 of the Act of 1996 is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (4) of the following subsections:

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“(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Part, where, a woman, has ceased or ceases to be entitled to benefit under Chapter 18 of Part II of the Principal Act by virtue of no longer having at least one qualified child residing with her, she shall, on reaching the age of 40 years, where but for this Part she would be entitled to the said benefit, again become and continue to be entitled to the said benefit, for the duration of her continuous entitlement thereto, in accordance with the provisions of the Principal Act and regulations made thereunder.

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(5) In the case of a person to whom subsection (2),(3) or (4) applies and who is disqualified for receipt of a relevant payment by virtue of section 211(1)(a) or (14) of the Principal Act, where but for that disqualification she would be entitled to the said relevant payment, she shall again become entitled to the said relevant payment at the expiration of the disqualification in any case where the period of disqualification does not exceed 12 months.”

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Volunteer development workers— extension of entitlement.

24. —(1) Section 32 (9) (inserted by section 12 of the No. (2) Act of 1993) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for “next suceeding benefit year” of “next two succeeding benefit years”.

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(2) Section 43 (7) (inserted by section 13 of the No. (2) Act of 1993) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for “next succeeding benefit year” of “next two succeeding benefit years”.

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(3) Section 41B (inserted by the European Communities (Social Welfare) Regulations, 1995 (S.I. No. 25 of 1995)) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (4) of the following subsection:

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“(5) The requirement contained in subsection (1)(b) that the claimant must have prescribed reckonable weekly earnings in excess of a prescribed amount in the prescribed period shall not apply in the case of a claim for health and safety benefit made by a person in the benefit year in which that person, having been a volunteer development worker, returns to the State from a developing country or in the next two succeeding benefit years.”

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Commencement (Part V).

25. — 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 purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.