S.I. No. 374/1991:

SOCIAL WELFARE (OVERLAPPING BENEFITS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1991

SOCIAL WELFARE (OVERLAPPING BENEFITS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1991

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3 and 219 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 (No. 1 of 1981), by section 130 of that Act (inserted by section 43 of the Social Welfare Act, 1991 (No. 7 of 1991)) and by section 59 of the Social Welfare Act, 1991 , hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations, 1991.

(2) These Regulations and the Principal Regulations shall be construed together as one and many be cited together as the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1991.

2. In these Regulations--

"the Act" means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 ;

"the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 281 of 1991 ).

3. Articles 4 and 6 of these Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1992.

4. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the substitution for articles 11, 12 and 13 of the following article--

"11. (1) Any arrears of a relevant payment payable to or in respect of a person, which the Minister, by virtue of section 215B of the Act, may reduce by the amount of the excess, shall include any such arrears payable to or in respect of the spouse of that person.

(2) In this article 'arrears', 'excess' and 'relevant payment' have the meanings assigned to them by section 215B of the Act.".

5. Article 17 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the insertion after sub-article (2) of the following sub-articles--

"(3) Subject to sub-article (4) of this article, where, immediately before the 1st day of November, 1991--

(a) a maintenance allowance under section 69 of the Health Act, 1970 , or

(b) a payment under section 44 of the Health Act, 1947 , to a person suffering from an infectious disease, or

(c) an increase in either of the payments specified in paragraph (a) or (b),

and

(i) any benefit specified in subsection (1) of section 17 of the Act (other than death benefit by way of a grant in respect of funeral expenses or death grant), or

(ii) any assistance specified in subsection (1) of section 134 of the Act (other than supplementary welfare allowance), or

(iii) an increase in any of the payments specified in subparagraph (i) or (ii),

would be payable to or in respect of a qualified child in respect of the same period, section 130 of the Act shall not operate so as to disentitle such person to any such payment.

(4) Where, on or after the 1st day of November, 1991, more than one of the payments specified in sub-article (3) of this article continues to be payable to or in respect of a qualified child in respect of the same period by virtue of the said sub-article (3), and any such payment subsequently ceases to be payable to or in respect of that person, sub-article (3) of this article shall cease to apply to that person from the date that such payment ceases.".

6. (1) The Schedule to the Social Welfare (Pre-Retirement Allowance) Regulations, 1990 ( S.I. No. 76 of 1990 ) is hereby amended by the deletion of section 152 of the Act, as set out and modified in the said Schedule.

(2) The Schedule to the Social Welfare (Lone Parents Allowance and other Analogus Payments) Regulations, 1990 ( S.I. No. 272 of 1990 ) is hereby amended by the deletion of section 194 of the Act, as set out and modified in the said Schedule.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare

this 31st day of December, 1991.

BRENDAN DALY,

Minister for Social Welfare.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

Section 44 of the Social Welfare Act, 1991 provides that supplementary welfare allowance paid to a person while awaiting the outcome of an application to another social welfare payment may be treated as payment on account of that other payment. This is in line with the provisions in relation to other social welfare payments.

These Regulations amend the previous regulatory provisions relating to the recoupment of supplementary welfare allowance, as a consequence of the provisions contained in the Social Welfare Act, 1991 .

These Regulations also provide that the new overlapping benefits rules, which were introduced under the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 281 of 1991 ), will not apply to persons who were concurrently entitled to disabled person's maintenance allowance and any social welfare payment immediately before 1 November, 1991. The Regulations also contain a number of technical amendments arising from the new arrangements.