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26 2005

Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

Chapter 3

Appointment and Duties of Social Welfare Inspectors

Social welfare inspectors.

[1993 s212(1); 2005 (SW&P) s7(c) & 10(b)]

250. —(1) The Minister, or an officer authorised in that behalf by special or general directions of the Minister, may appoint such and so many officers as is appropriate to be social welfare inspectors for the purposes of those provisions of Parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 12 and this Part as he or she may determine in the case of those appointments.

[1993 s212(2)]

(2) Every social welfare inspector shall investigate and report to the Minister on any claim for or in respect of benefit and any question arising on or in relation to that benefit which may be referred to him or her by the Minister, and may, for the purpose of the investigation and report require—

(a) a claimant or a beneficiary,

(b) the spouse or any employer of the claimant or beneficiary,

(c) in the case of child benefit, any person in charge of a child in respect of whom the claim is made,

(d) a person liable to contribute under section 346 (1) or any employer of that person, and

(e) the personal representative of a person who was at any time in receipt of any benefit,

to give to the social welfare inspector the information and to produce to him or her the documents, within the period that may be prescribed, as he or she may reasonably require.

[1993 s212(3); 2004 (MP) s12(a)]

(3) A social welfare inspector shall, for the purposes of this Act or section 121(1)(a) of the Pensions Act 1990 , have power to do all or any of the following:

(a) to enter, without prior notification, at all reasonable times, any premises or place liable to inspection under this section;

(b) in that premises or place—

(i) to make such examination or enquiry,

(ii) to inspect and take copies of or extracts from any records (including, in the case of information in a non-legible form, a copy of or extract from that information in permanent legible form), found there, and

(iii) to remove and retain those records for such period as may be reasonable for further examination,

as may be necessary to ascertain whether this Act is being complied with and while making any examination or enquiry to ascertain whether Chapter 2 of Part 2 is being complied with shall also have power to examine or enquire as to whether section 121(1)(a) of the Pensions Act 1990 is being complied with and to report, where necessary, to the Pensions Board;

(c) to secure for later inspection any such records;

(d) to examine, either alone or in the presence of any other person, as the social welfare inspector thinks fit in relation to any matters on which he or she may reasonably require information for the purposes of this Act, every person whom he or she finds in that premises or place, or whom he or she has reasonable cause to believe to be or to have been an insured person, and to require every such person to be so examined and to sign a declaration of the truth of the matters in respect of which the person is so examined; and

(e) for the purposes of answering or clarifying any questions that the social welfare inspector may have consequent on the inspection of the premises or place, to summon the occupier of the premises or place, any person who is or has been employing persons there or such person as may be designated by the occupier or employer as competent to answer or clarify any such questions, to attend at that premises or place (or at an office of the Minister), at any reasonable time specified, by written notice given to him or her at the premises or place or sent there to him or her by registered post.

[1993 s212(4); 2004 (MP) s12(b)]

(4) The occupier of any premises or place liable to inspection under this section, and any other person who—

(a) is or has been employing—

(i) any person in insurable employment or insurable (occupational injuries) employment, or

(ii) any claimant or beneficiary,

or

(b) engages or has engaged a person under a contract for service to perform a service,

and the employees of, or any other person providing bookkeeping, clerical or other administrative services to, any such occupier or other person and any insured person, claimant or beneficiary, or any person in respect of whom such a benefit is claimed, shall give to a social welfare inspector all such information and produce for inspection all such registers, cards, wages sheets, records of wages and other documents as the social welfare inspector may reasonably require for the purposes of ascertaining whether contributions are or have been payable, or have been duly paid in respect of any person, or whether any benefit is or was payable to or in respect of any person or whether section 121(1)(a) of the Pensions Act 1990 is being complied with.

[1993 s212(5)]

(5) Any person who holds a certificate of authorisation under Chapter 2 of Part 18 of the Act of 1997 shall, on the request of a social welfare inspector, furnish that certificate for inspection by him or her.

[1993 s212(6); 1999 s26(1)(b)]

(6) A person who—

(a) wilfully delays or obstructs a social welfare inspector in the exercise of any duty or power under this section, or

(b) refuses or neglects to answer any question or to give any information or to produce any record when required to do so under this section, or

(c) conceals or prevents or attempts to conceal or prevent any person from appearing before or being examined by a social welfare inspector or any other person appointed under this section,

is guilty of an offence.

[1993 s212(8); 2005 (SW&P) s7(c) & 10(c)]

(7) Every social welfare inspector shall be given a certificate of his or her appointment, and on entering any premises or place for the purposes of Parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 12 and this Part shall, if so requested, produce that certificate.

[1993 s212(9)]

(8) The premises or places liable to inspection under this section are any premises or places where a social welfare inspector has reasonable grounds for believing that—

(a) persons are, or have been, employed, or

(b) there are, or have been, self-employed persons,

and any premises or place where a social welfare inspector has reasonable grounds for believing that any documents relating to persons in employment or to self-employed persons are kept.

[1993 s212(10)]

(9) Where any premises or place is liable to be inspected by an inspector or by an officer appointed, employed by, or under the control of, another Minister of the Government, the Minister may make arrangements with that other Minister for any of the powers or duties of a social welfare inspector appointed under this section to be vested in the inspector or officer employed by that other Minister and, where such an arrangement is made, that inspector or officer shall have all the powers of a social welfare inspector appointed under this section for the purposes of the inspection.

[1994 s28(b)]

(10) A social welfare inspector may exercise any of the powers or duties conferred on him or her by this section to investigate, at the request of the competent authority of another Member State or any other country with which the Minister has made a reciprocal arrangement under the provisions of section 287 , any claim, by a person resident in the State, for or in respect of any social security payment under the legislation of another Member State, or under the legislation of any other country with which the Minister has made a reciprocal arrangement under those provisions.

[1993 s212(11)]

(11) Where a person is required by subsection (4) to produce records required under regulations made under section 17 (5), he or she shall, on the request of a social welfare inspector, produce those records at his or her registered address or his or her principal place of business.

[1993 s212(12)]

(12) A person who fails to comply with a request to produce records under subsection (11) within 21 days following the issue of that written request sent by registered post to the person at his or her registered address or his or her principal place of business is guilty of an offence.

[1993 s212(13)]

(13) Records of persons employed which an employer is obliged to maintain under regulations made under section 17 (5) which are produced to a social welfare inspector shall be prima facie evidence that those persons were employed by that employer and of the earnings of those persons and of the periods during which those persons were employed by the employer.

[1993 s212(14); 1996 s43]

(14) Where an employer issues to an employee a statement containing the particulars specified in section 3 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 , he or she shall retain a copy of the statement for 2 years from the date on which that statement was issued and shall give that copy on demand to a social welfare inspector for inspection under this section.

[1999 s26(1)(c)]

(15) A social welfare inspector may, where he or she considers it necessary, be accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána when performing any power conferred on a social welfare inspector under this section.

[1999 s26(1)(c)]

(16) A social welfare inspector may, for the purposes of ensuring compliance with this Act, if accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána in uniform—

(a) stop any vehicle which he or she reasonably suspects is used in the course of employment or self-employment, and

(b) on production of his or her certificate of appointment, where so requested, question and make enquiries of any person in the vehicle or require that person to give to the social welfare inspector any record relating to his or her employment or self-employment which the person has possession of in the vehicle, and examine it.