S.I. No. 170/1991:

SOCIAL WELFARE (LONE PARENT'S ALLOWANCE AND OTHER ANALOGOUS PAYMENTS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1991.

SOCIAL WELFARE (LONE PARENT'S ALLOWANCE AND OTHER ANALOGOUS PAYMENTS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1991.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3 and 195 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 (No. 1 of 1981) and by section 198F of that Act (inserted by section 12 of the Social Welfare Act, 1990 (No. 5 of 1990)), hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Lone Parent's Allowance and other Analogous Payments) (Amendment) Regulations, 1991.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Lone Parent's Allowance and Other Analogous Payments) Regulations, 1990 ( S.I. No. 272 of 1990 ) shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Lone Parent's Allowance and Other Analogous Payments) Regulations, 1990 and 1991.

(2) In these Regulations "the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Lone Parent's Allowance and Other Analogous Payments) Regulations, 1990.

3. Article 5 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the substitution for sub-article (2) of the following sub-article:--

"(2) A separated spouse shall make and continue to make appropriate efforts in the particular circumstances to obtain maintenance from his spouse for himself and their children.".

4. Article 12 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by--

( a ) the substitution for sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of sub-article (1) of the following sub-paragraph--

"(ii) is being maintained by her husband, but at a rate per week which is less than the maximum scheduled rate of lone parent's allowance appropriate to the family size, and", and

( b ) the substitution for sub-article (2) of the following sub-articles:--

"(2) A woman who has been deserted by her husband shall, for the purposes of section 195 of the Act, make and continue to make appropriate efforts in the particular circumstances to obtain maintenance from her husband.

(3) In this article `scheduled rate' means the rate of lone parent's allowance as set out in Part I of the Fourth Schedule to the Act.".

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this 28th day of June, 1991.

MICHAEL WOODS,

Minister for Social Welfare.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

One of the conditions in which lone parents are to be regarded as being separated by their spouses', for the purposes of qualifying for the lone parent's allowance, is that the separate spouse makes appropriate efforts, to the satisfaction of the Minister in the particular circumstances, to obtain maintenance for themselves and their children. A similar condition applies in the case of a woman who has been deserted by her husband for the purpose of qualification for the deserted wife's allowance.

These Regulations provide that the determination of "appropriate efforts" condition for the lone parent's allowance and deserted wife's allowance schemes will be a function of a deciding officer and a decision in this regard will, accordingly, be appealable to an appeals officer. These Regulations also provide for a technical amendment so as to enable higher maintenance payments to be disregarded for the purposes of qualifying for the deserted wife's benefit scheme, where the deserted wife has child dependants.