To whom it may concern,

Due to an error on behalf of the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the incorrect title was appended to Statutory Instrument No. 697 of 2006.

Attached is the corrected title page to Statutory Instrument No. 697 of 2006 which should read as follows :

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED SUPPLEMENTARY WELFARE ALLOWANCE) (AMENDMENT) (No. 3) (RENT SUPPLEMENT MEANS DISREGARD) REGULATIONS 2006

Any inconvenience caused is regretted.

Albert O'Donoghue

Legislation Unit

Department of Social and Family Affairs.

16 January 2007

S.I. No. 697 of 2006

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED SUPPLEMENTARY WELFARE ALLOWANCE) (AMENDMENT) (No. 3) (RENT SUPPLEMENT MEANS DISREGARD) REGULATIONS 2006

S.I. No. 697 of 2006

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED SUPPLEMENTARY WELFARE ALLOWANCE) (AMENDMENT) (No. 3) (RENT SUPPLEMENT MEANS DISREGARD) REGULATIONS 2006

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 4 (as amended by section 17 and Schedule 3 of the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (No. 5 of 2006)) and 198 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26 of 2005), hereby makes the following regulations:

Citation and construction.

1.  (1) These regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 3) (Rent Supplement Means Disregard) Regulations 2006.

(2)  These regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 1995 shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 1995 to 2006.

Commencement.

2.  These regulations come into operation on 1 January, 2007.

Definitions.

3.  In these regulations -

-�the Regulations of 2003-� means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 727 of 2003 );

-�the Principal Regulations-� means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 1995 ( S.I. No. 382 of 1995 ).

Entitlement to rent supplement.

4.  The Principal Regulations are amended by inserting after article 9(2A) (as inserted by article 3 of the Regulations of 2003) the following:

-�(2B). In assessing the means of a person for the purpose of a supplement payable under this Part, in the case of a claimant who has -

(a)  attained the age of 65 years, and

(b)  is in receipt of State pension (contributory), State pension (transition), invalidity pension, widow's (contributory) pension, widower's (contributory) pension, State pension (non-contributory), widow's (non-contributory) pension or widower's (non-contributory) pension,

where the rate of pension payable is greater than the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her circumstances, an amount equal to the difference between the pension and said rate of supplementary welfare allowance shall be disregarded.-�.

Amount of supplement.

The Principal Regulations are amended by substituting for article 12(1) (as amended by article 3 of the Regulations of 2003) the following:

-�(1)  Subject to these Regulations, the amount of a supplement payable under this Part to a claimant in respect of a week shall be the difference between his or her weekly needs less €13 and his or her weekly means, less the weekly amount of rent or mortgage interest, as the case may be, payable by him or her.-�.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing regulations.

Explanatory Note

[This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.]

These regulations provide for amendments to the conditions for entitlement to Rent Supplement payable under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.

In assessing the means of a claimant for Rent Supplement purposes, recipients of State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Transition), Invalidity Pension, Widow's (Contributory) Pension, Widower's (Contributory) Pension, State Pension (Non-Contributory), Widow's (Non-Contributory) Pension or Widower's (Non-Contributory) Pension, aged 65 or over, will have the difference between their pension payment and the rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance payable (appropriate to their family circumstances) disregarded.