S.I. No. 320/1979:

SOCIAL WELFARE (VARIATION OF RATES OF PAYMENTS) REGULATIONS, 1979.

SOCIAL WELFARE (VARIATION OF RATES OF PAYMENTS) REGULATIONS, 1979.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952 ) and section 16 of the Social Welfare Act, 1975 (No. 1 of 1975 ), hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Variation of Rates of Payments) Regulations, 1979.

2. In these Regulations--

"the Act of 1933" means the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933 (No. 46 of 1933);

"the Act of 1935" means the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935 (No. 29 of 1935);

" the Act of 1952" means the Social Welfare Act, 1952 ;

"the Act of 1966" means the Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966 (No. 16 of 1966);

"the Act of 1967" means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1967 (No. 18 of 1967);

"the Act of 1969" means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1969 (No. 19 of 1969);

"the Act of 1970" means the Social Welfare Act, 1970 (No. 12 of 1970);

"the Act of 1973" means the Social Welfare Act, 1973 (No. 10 of 1973);

"the Act of 1974" means the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1974 (No. 14 of 1974);

"the Act of 1979" means the Social Welfare Act, 1979 (No. 8 of 1979);

"old age (non-contributory) pension" means a pension payable under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1979;

"unemployment assistance" means assistance payable under the Unemployment Assistance Acts, 1933 to 1979;

"widow's (non-contributory) pension" or "orphan's (non-contributory) pension" means, as the context requires, a pension payable under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1979;

"deserted wife's allowance" means an allowance payable under section 22 of the Act of 1970;

"social assistance allowance for unmarried mothers" means an allowance payable under section 8 of the Act of 1973;

"prisoner's wife's allowance" means an allowance payable under section 9 of the Act of 1974;

"single woman's allowance" means an allowance payable under section 8 of the Act of 1974;

"occupational injuries benefits" means benefits payable under the Act of 1966.

3. The rates of old age (non-contributory) pension are hereby varied with effect on and from the 5th day of October, 1979,--

( a ) by the substitution for the rates set out in Tables A and B to subsection (2) (inserted by the Act of 1979) of section 77 of the Act of 1952 of the rates set out in the following Tables:

TABLE A.

RATE OF PENSION.

TABLE B.

INCREASE FOR AN ADULT DEPENDANT.

( b ) by the increase of the sum of £8.80 (inserted by the Act of 1979) referred to in subsection (5) (inserted by the Act of 1969) of section 77 of the Act of 1952 to the sum of £9.40.

4. The rates of unemployment assistance are hereby varied with effect on and from the 26th day of September, 1979,---

( a ) by the substitution for the rates set out in Schedule A (inserted by the Act of 1979) to the Act of 1933 of the rates set out in Schedule A to this article, and

( b ) by the substitution for the rates set out in Schedules B and C to section 3 of the Act of 1979 of the rates set out respectively in Schedules B and C to this article.

SCHEDULE A.

RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.

SCHEDULE B.

RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.

SCHEDULE C.

RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.

5. The rates of widows' (non-contributory) pensions are hereby varied with effect on and from the 5th day of October, 1979, and the rates of deserted wife's allowance, social assistance allowance for unmarried mothers and prisoner's wife's allowances are hereby varied with effect on and from the 4th day of October, 1979,---

( a ) by the substitution for the rates set out in Table B in subsection (1) (inserted by the Act of 1979) of section 20 of the Act of 1935 of the rates set out in the following Table:

TABLE B.

WEEKLY RATES OF WIDOWS' (NON-CONTRIBUTORY) PENSIONS.

( b ) by the increase of the sum of £8.80 referred to in subsection (9) (inserted by the Act of 1979) of section 20 of the Act of 1935 to the sum of £9.40.

6. The rates of orphans' (non-contributory) pensions are hereby varied with effect on and from the 5th day of October, 1979, by the substitution for the rates set out in the Table (inserted by the Act of 1979) to subsection (1) of section 25 of the Act of 1935 of the rates set out in the following Table:

TABLE.

WEEKLY RATES OF ORPHANS' (NON-CONTRIBUTORY) PENSIONS.

7. The rate of single woman's allowance is hereby varied with effect on and from the 4th day of October, 1979, by the substitution for the rates set out in the Table (inserted by the Act of 1979) to section 8 of the Act of 1974 of the rates set out in the following Table:

TABLE.

RATES OF SINGLE WOMAN'S ALLOWANCE.

8. The rates of benefits under section 14 and of increases thereof under sections 26 and 27 of the Act of 1952 are hereby varied with effect, in so far as they relate to disability benefit, unemployment benefit and maternity allowance, on and from the 1st day of October, 1979, in so far as they relate to invalidity pension, deserted wife's benefit and retirement pension, on and from the 4th day of October, 1979, and in so far as they relate to widow's (contributory) pension, orphan's (contributory) allowance and old age (contributory) pension, on and from the 5th day of October, 1979, by the substitution--

( a ) for the rates set out in Part I (inserted by the Act of 1979) of the Third Schedule to the Act of 1952 of the following rates:

RATES OF PERIODICAL BENEFITS AND OF INCREASES THEREOF.

and

( b ) for the rates set out in the Table (inserted by the Act of 1979) to subsection (2) of section 5 of the Act of 1967 of the rates set out in the following Table:

TABLE.

9. (1) This article shall have effect on and from the 1st day of October, 1979, save that in so far as it relates to benefits under sections 9 (8), 9 (9), 13 (1), 17 (2), 18 (2), 19, 20 and 21 (2) of the Act of 1966 it shall have effect on and from the 5th day of October, 1979.

(2) The rates of occupational injuries benefits in the Act of 1966 (as substituted by the Act of 1979) mentioned in column (1) of the Table hereto are hereby varied by the substitution for the said rates of the rates set out in column (2) of the said Table opposite that mention in column (1):

TABLE.

GIVEN under the Official seal of the Minister for Social Welfare

this 24th day of September 1979.

CHARLES J. HAUGHEY,

Minister for Social Welfare.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this

24th day of September 1979.

SEOIRSE Ó COLLA,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The provisions of these Regulations are intended to give effect to the undertaking contained in the National Understanding for Economic and Social Development to increase social welfare payments during the months October 1979 to March 1980.

The Regulations accordingly provide for increases in the existing statutory rates of old age contributory and non-contributory pensions, disability benefit, maternity allowance, unemployment benefit and assistance, widows' and orphans' contributory and non-contributory pensions, deserted wife's benefit, invalidity and retirement pensions, occupational injuries benefits and social assistance allowances for deserted wives, unmarried mothers, prisoners' wives and elderly single women, the new rates being payable from appropriate dates in September and October 1979.