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5 1990

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1990

PART II

Increases

Social insurance benefits (new rates).

3. —(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I to IV (inserted by section 3 of the Act of 1989) of the Second Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule A to this Act.

(2) This section shall come into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment benefit, on the 19th day of July, 1990,

(b) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, maternity allowance, injury benefit, disablement gratuity and disablement pension, on the 23rd day of July, 1990,

(c) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's benefit, invalidity pension and retirement pension, on the 26th day of July, 1990, and

(d) in so far as it relates to death benefit under section 50, 51 or 52 of the Principal Act, old age (contributory) pension, widow's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance, on the 27th day of July, 1990.

Social assistance payments (new rates).

4. —(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I and III (inserted by section 4 of the Act of 1989) of the Fourth Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule B to this Act.

(2) This section shall come into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance, on the 18th day of July, 1990,

(b) in so far as it relates to pre-retirement allowance, deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance, social assistance allowance, single woman's allowance, widower's (non-contributory) pension and deserted husband's allowance, on the 26th day of July, 1990,

(c) in so far as it relates to old age pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on the 27th day of July, 1990,

(d) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on the 23rd day of July, 1990, and

(e) in so far as it relates to carer's allowance, on the commencement of Chapter 5B (inserted by section 17 of this Act) of the Principal Act.

Child benefit.

5. —(1) The Fourth Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Part IV (inserted by section 5 of the Act of 1989) of the following Part:

“PART IV

Amounts of Child Benefit

Amount for each of first four children

Amount for each child in excess of four

(1)

(2)

£15.80

£22.90

”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 2nd day of October, 1990.

Definition of “qualified child”.

6. —(1) Section 2 (1) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for the definition of “qualified child” (inserted by section 7 of the Act of 1989) of the following definition:

“‘qualified child’ means a person who is ordinarily resident in the State, is not detained in a reformatory or an industrial school, and—

(a) for the purposes of—

(i) sections 21 (2), 26A (1) and 32 (2),

(ii) section 44 (2) as it applies to injury benefit, and

(iii) section 139 (b) in the case of an applicant for unemployment assistance other than as referred to in paragraph (b),

is under the age of 18 years,

(b) for the purposes of—

(i) section 44 (2) as it applies to disablement pension,

(ii) sections 81 (2), 86 (2), 91 (2), 156B (1) (b), 161 (1) and 198I (1), and

(iii) section 139 (b) in the case of an applicant who, in any continuous period of unemployment as construed in accordance with section 135 (2), has been in receipt of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance for not less than 390 days—

(I) is under the age of 18 years, or

(II) is of or over the age of 18 years and under the age of 20 years, and is receiving full-time instruction by day at any university, college, school or other educational establishment,

(c) for the purposes of sections 50 (9), 95 (1), 103 (1), 178 (1), 195 (1), 196 (1), 197 (1), 198A, 198B and 198C (1)—

(i) is under the age of 18 years, or

(ii) is of or over the age of 18 years and under the age of 21 years, and is receiving full-time instruction by day at any university, college, school or other educational establishment;”.

(2) Section 161 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) (inserted by section 3 of the Act of 1982) of the following subsection:

“(1) The rate (in this Chapter referred to as the scheduled rate) of old age pension shall be the weekly rate set out in column (2) of Part I of the Fourth Schedule increased, where there is a qualified child or there are qualified children, by the appropriate amount set out in column (4) or (5) of that Part in respect of each qualified child who normally resides with the claimant or pensioner.”.

(3) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of September, 1990, except in so far as it relates to the definition of “qualified child” (inserted by subsection (1) of this section) in section 2 (1) of the Principal Act for the purposes of section 139 (b) of that Act it shall come into operation on the 29th day of August, 1990.

Pay-related social insurance contributions (increase in earnings ceiling).

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

(a) the substitution in paragraph (c) (inserted by section 8 of the Act of 1989) of subsection (1) of “£18,600” for “£18,000”, and

(b) the substitution in paragraph (cc) (inserted by section 8 of the Act of 1989) of subsection (1) of “£17,300” for “£16,700”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1990.

Self-employment contributions (increase in earnings ceiling).

8. —(1) Section 17C (d) (inserted by section 11 of the Act of 1988) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of “£17,300” for “£16,700” (inserted by section 9 of the Act of 1989).

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1990.

Exemption of employed contributors from payment of contributions.

9. —Section 10 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (8) (inserted by section 14 of the Social Welfare Act, 1983 ) of the following subsection:

“(9) (a) Where but for this subsection, an employment contribution would be payable by and in respect of an employed contributor at the rates specified in subsection (1) (b) increased by the amount specified in section 65 (2) (b), the employed contributor shall, subject to regulations, be exempted from the employment contribution payable under subsection (1) (b) (i) where his weekly reckonable earnings are below a prescribed amount.

(b) Regulations under paragraph (a) may in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing specify—

(i) the manner in which the amounts of weekly reckonable earnings are to be calculated for the purposes of that paragraph,

(ii) the manner in which the provisions of that paragraph are to be applied in the case of an employed contributor who is employed by two or more employers concurrently, and

(iii) the manner in which the provisions of that paragraph are to be applied in the case of an employed contributor remunerated other than on a weekly basis.

(c) An employer who adjusts the method of payment of reckonable earnings to an employed contributor who was employed in consecutive weeks in order to ensure that the employed contributor is exempted in any week from the employment contribution payable under subsection (1) (b) (i) by virtue of paragraph (a) and regulations made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £10,000.”.

Exemption from payment of contributions, etc.

10. — An employer who, during the period commencing on the 23rd day of October, 1989, and ending on the 28th day of February, 1990, employed additional employees under and by virtue of the scheme administered by the Department of Social Welfare and known as the Employers' Pay-Related Social Insurance Exemption Scheme, shall not, during the period commencing on the 6th day of April, 1990, and ending on the 5th day of April, 1991, be liable to pay in respect of additional employees who constitute a net increase in the employer's workforce under the scheme all or any of the following, namely—

(a) the contribution specified in section 10 (1) (b) (ii) of the Principal Act (inserted by section 5 of the Act of 1982);

(b) the employment contribution specified in subsection (2) (a) (ii) and the increase specified in subsection (2) (b) of section 65 (inserted by section 7 of the Act of 1988) of the Principal Act;

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

(d) 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 ); or

(e) the employers' redundancy contribution payable under section 28 (inserted by section 3 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1979 , and extended by section 2 of the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984 ) of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 .

Pay-related benefit.

11. — (1) Section 73 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of “£72” for “£69” (inserted by section 10 of the Act of 1989).

(2) This section shall have effect in relation to any period of interruption of employment commencing on or after the 9th day of April, 1990.