SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1951

AN ACT TO AMEND THE EXISTING ENACTMENTS RELATING TO OLD AGE AND BLIND PERSONS' PENSIONS. [17th July, 1951.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act—

“the Act of 1908” means the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908;

“the Act of 1924” means the Old Age Pensions Act, 1924 (No. 19 of 1924);

“the Act of 1948” means the Social Welfare Act, 1948 (No. 17 of 1948);

“the Acts” means the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1948;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Social Welfare;

“pension” means a pension under the Acts.

• (2) This Act shall be construed as one with the Acts.

2 Restriction of section 4 (3) of Act of 1908.

2.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, subsection (3) of section 4 of the Act of 1908 shall not apply to any assignment (whether effected before or after the passing of this Act)—

• (a) which is an assignment to a child or children of the assignor, and

• (b) as respects which the property comprised therein consists of a farm of land (together with or without the stock and chattels thereon) the rateable value of which (including the buildings thereon) does not exceed thirty pounds and of which the assignor is the owner and the occupier or the occupier only.

• (2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to an assignment by a person who, at any time within the three years ending when the relevant claim for a pension or application for an increase of a pension is made, was, as respects any agricultural lands exceeding thirty pounds in rateable value or aggregate rateable value, the owner and occupier thereof, the occupier only thereof or the owner and occupier of part thereof and the occupier only of the remainder.

• (3) In this section, “assignment” includes any form of conveyance, transfer or other transaction by which a person parts with the ownership or possession of property.

3 Exclusion in calculating means.

3.—(1) In calculating for the purposes of the Acts, as amended by this Act, the means of any person—

• (a) no account shall be taken of an amount of an allowance, special allowance, dependant's allowance, disability pension or wound pension under the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 to 1949, or of a combination of such allowances and such pensions, except so far as such amount exceeds eighty pounds per year,

• (b) no account shall be taken of an amount of assistance received from one or more than one charitable organisation, except so far as such amount exceeds fifty-two pounds five shillings per year.

• (2) In subsection (1) of this section, “charitable organisation” means a body whose activities are carried on otherwise than for profit (but excluding any public or local authority) and one of whose functions is to assist persons in need by making grants of money to them.

4 Increase of rates of pensions.

4.—(1) As from the appointed day, a pension shall, subject to section 13 of the Act of 1948 as amended by this section, be at the rate set forth in the Table to this subsection in lieu of the rate fixed by section 9 of the Act of 1948.

TABLE.

Rate of Pension.

• (2) As from the appointed day—

• (a) “sixty-five pounds five shillings” shall be substituted for “fifty-two pounds five shillings” in subsection (1) of section 8 of the Act of 1924, as amended by section 10 of the Act of 1948;

• (b) the reference in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 13 of the Act of 1948 to Chapter II of Part II of that Act shall be construed as including a reference to subsection (1) of this section.

• (3) The Minister may by order appoint a day to be the appointed day for the purposes of this section and the next following section.

5 Review and prospective adjustment of pensions.

5.—(1) In this section—

“existing pension” means a pension which—

• (a) is payable at the date of the passing of this Act, or

• (b) commences to accrue before the appointed day;

“the appropriate new weekly rate” means, in relation to an existing pension, a weekly rate which, having regard to section 4 of this Act, will, if such pension continues to be payable after the day before the appointed day, be applicable to such pension.

• (2) Every pension officer shall, as soon as may be after the passing of this Act, proceed to review every existing pension in his area and shall, subject to subsection (3) of this section, adjust, with effect as from the appointed day, such pension to the appropriate new weekly rate, and such pension, if it continues to be payable after the day before the appointed day, shall, subject to the provisions of the Acts and this Act, be payable, as on and from the appointed day, at the weekly rate to which it is so adjusted.

• (3)
• (a) For the purposes of the review and adjustment of an existing pension under this section, the reference to the yearly means of the pensioner, contained in the Table to section 4 of this Act, shall be construed as a reference to the yearly means of the pensioner as they stood determined at the date of the review and adjustment.

• (b) Where an existing pension is, by virtue of section 13 of the Act of 1948, payable at a rate which equals or exceeds the appropriate new weekly rate, the pension shall not be adjusted under this section.

6 Short title and collective citation.

6.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act, 1951.

• (2) The Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1948, and this Act may be cited together as the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1951.