Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act , 1966

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Acts” means the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1966;

“apprentice” means a person undergoing full-time training for any trade, business, profession, office, employment or vocation;

“approved hospital treatment” has the meaning specified in subsection (2) of section 33;

“child qualified for the purposes of this Act” means a person who—

(a) is under the age of eighteen,

(b) is ordinarily resident in the State,

(c) is not detained in a reformatory or an industrial school, and

(d) if not under the age of sixteen—

(i) is undergoing full-time instruction in a day school,

(ii) is an apprentice either not remunerated or at a rate of remuneration not exceeding fifty shillings per week, or

(iii) is, by reason of physical or mental infirmity, incapable of engaging in any remunerative occupation and likely to remain so incapable for a prolonged period;

“claimant” means a person claiming occupational injuries benefit, and also includes an applicant for a declaration that an accident was or was not an occupational accident, and reference to a claim shall be construed accordingly;

“the deceased” means, in relation to death benefit, the person in respect of whose death the benefit is claimed or payable;

“disablement gratuity” has the meaning specified in subsection (7) of section 9;

“disablement pension” has the meaning specified in subsection (8) or subsection (9) of section 9;

“injury benefit period” means, in relation to any accident, the period of one hundred and fifty-six days (Sundays being disregarded) beginning with the day of the accident, or the part of that period for which, under subsection (2) of section 9 of this Act, disablement benefit in respect of the accident is not available to the insured person;

“insurable (occupational injuries) employment” has the meaning specified in section 3;

“medical examination” includes bacteriological and radiographical tests and similar investigations, and references to being medically examined shall be construed accordingly;

“medical treatment” has the meaning specified in subsection (1) of section 33;

“occupational accident” has the meaning specified in section 29;

“occupational injuries insurance” has the meaning specified in subsection (2) of section 2;

“orphan qualified for the purposes of this Act” means—

(a) a child qualified for the purposes of this Act, being a legitimate child, both of whose parents are dead and who, where he has a stepparent, does not normally reside with the stepparent or a person married to and living with the stepparent, or

(b) a child qualified for the purposes of this Act, being an illegitimate child, whose mother is dead and whose father is dead or unknown and who, if there is a surviving husband of his mother, does not normally reside with that husband or a woman married to and living with that husband;

“the Principal Act” means the Social Welfare Act, 1952;

“relevant accident” and “relevant injury” mean respectively, in relation to any benefit, the accident and injury in respect of which the benefit is claimed or payable; and “relevant loss of faculty” means the loss of faculty resulting from the relevant injury;

“unemployability supplement” has the meaning specified in subsection (3) of section 12;

“the Workmen's Compensation Acts” means the Workmen's Compensation Acts, 1934 to 1955, or the enactments repealed by the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1934, or the enactments repealed by the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906.

(2) References in this Act to loss of physical faculty shall be construed as including references to disfigurement, whether or not accompanied by any actual loss of faculty.

(3) References in this Act to any enactment shall, save where the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to that Act as amended by any subsequent enactment including this Act.

(4) In this Act “the appointed day” means such day as the Minister may by order appoint and different days may be appointed for different purposes of this Act or for the same purpose in relation to different cases or classes of case.

(5) Any question relating to the normal residence of a child qualified for the purposes of this Act shall, for the purposes of this Act, be decided in accordance with subsection (2) of section 5 of the Children's Allowances (Amendment) Act, 1946, and the rules under that subsection.

(6) Where a child qualified for the purposes of this Act has been or becomes adopted pursuant to the Adoption Acts, 1952 and 1964, then for the purposes of this Act—

(a) the child shall be treated as if he were the child of the adopter or adopters born to him, her or them in lawful wedlock and were not the child of any other person and, if he was an orphan qualified for the purposes of this Act immediately before the adoption, as having ceased to be such an orphan, and

(b) if there is one adopter only, in any application after the adoption with respect to the child of the definition of “orphan qualified for the purposes of this Act” contained in subsection (1) of this section, “the parent of whom is dead” shall be substituted in paragraph (a) of that definition for “both of whose parents are dead”.

(7) Section 3 (other than subsection (4) thereof) of the Principal Act shall be construed and have effect as if—

(a) references therein to a power to make regulations included references to any power to make regulations under this Act, and

(b) references therein to regulations included references to any regulations under this Act.

(8) (a) The definition of “increase” contained in subsection (1) of section 2 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after “or section 27”of “of this Act or under section 10, section 11, section 12, section 13, section 14 or section 19 of the Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966”.

(b) Subsection (2) of section 31 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after “such person,” of “or an increase under section 10 of the Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966, in respect of such husband or wife,”.

2 Occupational injuries insurance.

2.—(1) Subject to the provisions of the Acts, every person, irrespective of age, who, on or after the appointed day, is employed in insurable (occupational injuries) employment shall be insured under the Acts against personal injury caused on or after the appointed day by accident arising out of and in the course of such employment.

(2) Any reference in this Act to occupational injuries insurance shall be construed as a reference to the insurance provided for by this section.

(3) An allowance or gratuity shall not be granted under section 1 of the Superannuation Act, 1887, in a case in which the injury was sustained by a person having occupational injuries insurance.

3 Insurable (occupational injuries) employment.

3.—(1) Any reference in this Act to insurable (occupational injuries) employment shall, subject to the subsequent subsections of this section, be construed as a reference to any employment for the time being specified in Part I of the First Schedule to the Principal Act, not being an employment specified in Part II of that Schedule.

(2) (a) For the purposes of this section, the following employments shall be taken as being added to the employments specified in Part I of the First Schedule to the Principal Act:

(i) employment in the State in plying for hire with any vehicle, vessel, aircraft, machine or animal, the use of which is obtained under any contract of bailment (other than a hire purchase agreement) in consideration of the payment of a fixed sum or a share in the earnings or otherwise,

(ii) employment under any contract of service or apprenticeship entered into in the State (otherwise than as captain, master or a member of the crew) on board a ship or aircraft, being employment for the purpose of the ship or aircraft or of any passengers or cargo or mails carried by the ship or aircraft,

(iii) employment in the State as a member or as a person training to become a member of any such fire brigade, rescue brigade, first-aid party or salvage party at a factory, mine or works, as may be prescribed, or of any such similar organisation as may be prescribed.

(b) In subparagraph (ii) of the foregoing paragraph—

“ship” means—

(i) any ship registered in the State, or

(ii) any other ship or vessel of which the owner, or, if there is more than one owner, the managing owner or manager, resides or has his principal place of business in the State;

“aircraft” means—

(i) any aircraft registered in the State, or

(ii) any other aircraft of which the owner, or, if there is more than one owner, the managing owner or manager, resides or has his principal place of business in the State.

(3) For the purposes of this section, the following employments shall be taken as being added to the employments specified in Part II of the First Schedule to the Principal Act:

(a) employment as a member of the Defence Forces,

(b) employment, which is neither wholetime as may be defined in regulations nor under contract of service, as a member of the crew of a fishing vessel where the employed person is wholly remunerated by a share in the profits or the gross earnings of the working of the vessel,

(c) employment, otherwise than under contract of service or apprenticeship, as an outworker,

(d) employment under any local or other public authority in the execution of any contract for services.

(4) For the purposes of this section, paragraph 3 of Part II of the First Schedule to the Principal Act shall be taken as not including employment of a casual nature for the purposes of any work in or about the residence of the employer.

(5) For the purposes of this section, paragraphs 7, 9 and 10 of Part II of the First Schedule to the Principal Act (being paragraphs added to that Part by the Social Welfare (Insurance Inclusions and Exclusions) Regulations, 1952) shall be taken as not including employment under any contract of service or apprenticeship.

(6) For the purposes of this section, a pilot to whom the Pilotage Act, 1913, applies, shall, when employed on any ship (as defined in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section), be deemed to be a member of the crew of that ship.

(7) The Minister may, in relation to paragraphs 5 and 6 of Part II of the First Schedule to the Principal Act, by regulations provide that an employment specified as being subsidiary employment or an employment specified as being of inconsiderable extent shall be taken for the purposes of this section as not being so specified.

(8) The Minister may by regulations, which shall be subject to the sanction of the Minister for Finance, provide that any specified employment under any local or other public authority shall be taken for the purposes of this section as being added to Part II of the First Schedule to the Principal Act.

(9) Where it appears to the Minister—

(a) that the nature or other circumstances of the service rendered or the work performed in any employment which, apart from this subsection, is insurable (occupational injuries) employment and in any employment which, apart from this subsection, is not such employment (whether by reason of the fact that it is an excepted employment or otherwise) are so similar as to result in anomalies in the operation of the Acts, and

(b) that either—

(i) the first-mentioned employment can conveniently be included among the excepted employments, or

(ii) the second-mentioned employment can conveniently be included among the insurable (occupational injuries) employments,

the Minister may by regulations, which shall be subject to the sanction of the Minister for Finance, provide that the employment shall be so included.

(10) The Minister may by regulations, which shall be subject to the sanction of the Minister for Finance, modify the provisions of the Acts in their application in the case of persons employed in employments specified in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section.

4 Extension of meaning of references to arising out of and in the course of employment.

4.—(1) An accident arising in the course of an insured person's employment shall be deemed for the purposes of the Acts, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, also to have arisen out of that employment.

(2) An accident shall be treated for the purposes of the Acts, where it would not apart from this section be so treated, as arising out of an insured person's employment if—

(a) the accident arises in the course of the employment,

(b) the accident either—

(i) is caused by another person's misconduct, skylarking or negligence, or by steps taken in consequence of any such misconduct, skylarking or negligence or by the behaviour or presence of an animal (including a bird, fish or insect), or

(ii) is caused by or consists in the insured person's being struck by any object or by lightning, and

(c) the insured person did not directly or indirectly induce or contribute to the happening of the accident by his conduct outside the employment or by any act not incidental to the employment.

(3) An accident shall be deemed for the purposes of the Acts to arise out of and in the course of an insured person's employment, notwithstanding that he is at the time of the accident acting in contravention of any statutory or other regulations applicable to his employment, or of any orders given by or on behalf of his employer, or that he is acting without instructions from his employer, if—

(a) the accident would have been deemed for the purposes of the Acts so to have arisen had the act not been done in contravention as aforesaid or without instructions from his employer, as the case may be, and

(b) the act is done for the purposes of and in connection with the employer's trade or business.

(4) An accident happening while an insured person is, with the express or implied permission of his employer, travelling as a passenger by any vehicle to or from his place of work shall, notwithstanding that he is under no obligation to his employer to travel by that vehicle, be deemed for the purposes of the Acts to arise out of and in the course of his employment, if—

(a) the accident would have been deemed for those purposes so to have arisen had he been under such an obligation, and

(b) at the time of the accident, the vehicle—

(i) is being operated by or on behalf of his employer or some other person by whom it is provided in pursuance of arrangements made with his employer, and

(ii) is not being operated in the ordinary course of a public transport service.

In this subsection references to a vehicle include references to a ship, vessel or aircraft.

(5) An accident happening to an insured person in or about any premises at which he is for the time being employed for the purposes of his employer's trade or business shall be deemed for the purposes of the Acts to arise out of and in the course of his employment if it happens while he is taking steps, in an actual or supposed emergency at those premises, to rescue, succour or protect persons who are, or are thought to be or possibly to be, injured or imperilled, or to avert or minimise serious damage to property.

(6) An accident happening to an insured person, who is an apprentice, while he is in attendance at a technical school or other place for training or instruction (whether during ordinary hours of employment or otherwise), shall be deemed for the purposes of the Acts, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have arisen out of and in the course of his employment if his attendance at that school or place is with his employer's consent or is required by direction of his employer or under his contract of apprenticeship.

5 Accidents in course of illegal employment, etc.

5.—(1) Where a claim for occupational injuries benefit is made under the Acts in respect of any accident or of any disease or injury prescribed for the purposes of section 23 of this Act, or an application is made thereunder for a declaration that any accident was an occupational accident or for a corresponding declaration as to any such disease or injury, the Minister may direct that for the purposes of the Acts the relevant employment shall, in relation to that accident, disease or injury, be treated as having been insurable (occupational injuries) employment, notwithstanding that, by reason of a contravention of or noncompliance with some provision contained in or having effect under any enactment passed for the protection of employed persons or of any class of employed persons, the contract purporting to govern the employment was void or the employed person was not lawfully employed therein at the time when or in the place where the accident happened or the disease or injury was contracted or received.

(2) In subsection (1) of this section “relevant employment” means, in relation to an accident, the employment out of and in the course of which the accident arises and, in relation to a disease or injury, the employment to the nature of which the disease or injury is due.

6 Accidents outside the State.

6.—Except where regulations otherwise provide, occupational injuries benefit shall not be payable in respect of an accident happening while the insured person is outside the State.

7 Occupational injuries benefit.

7.—Section 14 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the addition at the end of subsection (1) thereof of the following paragraph:

“(h) occupational injuries benefit, which shall comprise injury benefit, disablement benefit and death benefit.”.

8 Injury benefit.

8.—(1) Subject to the provisions of the Acts, an insured person who suffers personal injury caused on or after the appointed day by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, being insurable (occupational injuries) employment, shall be entitled to injury benefit in respect of any day on which, as the result of the injury, he is incapable of work during the injury benefit period:

Provided that, subject to paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 15 of this Act, an insured person shall not be entitled to injury benefit in respect of the first three such days unless, as the result of the injury, he is incapable of work during the said period on not less than twelve days.

(2) In determining whether the insured person is incapable of work on the day of the accident, any part of that day before the happening of the accident shall be disregarded.

(3) Injury benefit shall be an allowance payable at a weekly rate of—

(a) in case the beneficiary is—

(I) under the age of eighteen years, or

(II) being over the age of eighteen years, a married woman other than a married woman living apart from and unable to obtain any financial assistance from her husband,