Social Welfare Act , 1973

1 Definitions.

1.—In this Act—

“the Act of 1933” means the Unemployment Assistance Act, 1933;

“the Act of 1935” means the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Act, 1935;

“the Act of 1946” means the Children's Allowances (Amendment) Act, 1946;

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

“the Act of 1964” means the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1964;

“the Act of 1970” means the Social Welfare Act, 1970;

“the Act of 1972” means the Social Welfare Act, 1972;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Social Welfare.

2 Old age pensions (new rates and extension of means limits).

2.—(1) Section 77 of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for subsection (2) (inserted by the Act of 1964) of the following subsection:

“(2) A pension shall, in lieu of any other rate, be—

(a) where the weekly means of the claimant or pensioner do not exceed £10.50—at the rate set forth in the Table to this subsection,

(b) where the weekly means of the claimant or pensioner exceed £10.50—at the rate at which, in accordance with the said Table, the pension would be payable if the weekly means of the claimant or pensioner exceeded £9.50 but did not exceed £10.50, less £1 for each amount (if any) of £1 by which the said weekly means exceed £10.50, any fraction of £1 in the said weekly means being treated for this purpose as £1; provided that if the rate calculated pursuant to this paragraph at which, but for this proviso, the pension would be payable is less than 50 new pence, the pension shall not be payable, and

(c) where the pensioner has attained the age of 80 years—at the rate of pension payable to him in accordance with paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection plus 50 new pence, and

for the purposes of this subsection weekly means shall be the yearly means divided by fifty-two.

TABLE

	Weekly Rate
Means of claimant or pensioner	Claimant or pensioner, no qualified child	Claimant or pensioner, one qualified child	Claimant or pensioner, two or more qualified children
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
	£	£	£
Where the weekly means of the claimant or pensioner—
do not exceed £4	615	780	945	}	Plus, where there are more than two qualified children, £1.25 for each qualified child in excess of two.
exceed £4 but do not exceed £5	515	680	845
exceed £5 but do not exceed £6	415	580	745
exceed £6 but do not exceed £7	315	480	645
exceed £7 but do not exceed £8	215	380	545
exceed £8 but do not exceed £9	115	280	445
exceed £9 but do not exceed £950	065	230	395
exceed £950 but do not exceed £1050	no pension	130	295

and

(b) the substitution in subsection (5) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1969) of “three pounds fifty new pence” for “three pounds” (inserted by the Act of 1972).

(2) Section 8 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1924 (as amended by the Act of 1972) is hereby amended by the substitution of “four hundred and ninety-four pounds” for “two hundred and seventy-three pounds and seventy-five new pence” in subsection 1 (i).

(3) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of July, 1973.

3 Unemployment assistance (new rates).

3.—(1) In the Act of 1933 for the Schedule thereto (inserted by the Act of 1972) there is hereby substituted the Schedule to this subsection.

SCHEDULE

Classes of persons to whom the rates of unemployment assistance set out in this Schedule are applicable	Weekly rate of unemployment assistance applicable to persons resident in any urban area	Weekly rate of unemployment assistance applicable to persons resident in any other place
Person without a dependant	£535	£505
Person with an adult dependant	£925	£885
Person with an adult dependant and one child dependant	£1090	£1050
Person with an adult dependant and two or more child dependants	£1255 plus, where there are more than two child dependants, £125 for each child dependant in excess of two.	£1215 plus, where there are more than two child dependants, £125 for each child dependant in excess of two.
Person with one child dependant	£715	£685
Person with two or more child dependants	£880 plus, where there are more than two child dependants, £125 for each child dependant in excess of two.	£850 plus, where there are more than two child dependants, £125 for each child dependant in excess of two.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 4th day of July, 1973.

4 Widows' (non-contributory) pensions (new rates and extension of means limits).

4.—(1) Section 20 (inserted by section 105 of the Act of 1952) of the Act of 1935 is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1) (a) A widow's (non-contributory) pension shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be—

(i) where the weekly means of the widow do not exceed £10.50—at the rate set forth in Table B to this subsection, and

(ii) where the weekly means of the widow exceed £10.50—at the rate at which, in accordance with the said Table B, the pension would be payable to the widow if her weekly means exceeded £9.50 but did not exceed £10.50, less £1 for each amount (if any) of £1 by which the said weekly means exceed £10.50, any fraction of £1 in the said weekly means being treated for this purpose as £1.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection, weekly means shall be the yearly means divided by fifty-two.

TABLE B

Means of Widow	Widow, no qualified child	Widow, one qualified child	Widow, two qualified children
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
	£	£	£
Where the weekly means of the widow—
do not exceed £4	615	815	1015	}	Plus, where there are more than two qualified children, £2 for each qualified child in excess of two.
exceed £4 but do not exceed £5	515	715	915
exceed £5 but do not exceed £6	415	615	815
exceed £6 but do not exceed £7	315	515	715
exceed £7 but do not exceed £8	215	415	615
exceed £8 but do not exceed £9	115	315	515
exceed £9 but do not exceed £950	065	265	465
exceed £950 but do not exceed£10.50	no pension	165	365

”

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 5th day of July, 1973, in the case of allowances payable by virtue of section 22 of the Act of 1970 or section 8 of this Act, and on the 6th day of July, 1973, in all other cases.

5 Orphans' (non-contributory) pensions (new rates and extension of means limits).

5.—(1) The Act of 1935 is hereby amended by the substitution for section 25 (inserted by the Act of 1952) of the following section:

“25. (1) An orphan's (non-contributory) pension shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be at the rate set forth in the Table to this subsection.

TABLE

Means of Orphan	Weekly Rates
Where the weekly means of the orphan—	£
do not exceed £1	4
exceed £1 but do not exceed £2	3
exceed £2 but do not exceed £3	2
exceed £3 but do not exceed £4	1
exceed £4	no pension

(2) Means of an orphan shall be calculated in accordance with the rules contained in the Seventh Schedule to the Social Welfare Act, 1952, and, for the purposes of this section, weekly means shall be the yearly means divided by fifty-two.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of July, 1973.

6 Children's allowances (new rates and extension of age limit for qualified children).

6.—(1) The Act of 1946 is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution for section 4 of the following section:

“4. A child shall be a qualified child for children's allowances purposes if—

(1) (a) he is under the age of sixteen years, or

(b) having attained the age of sixteen years he is under the age of eighteen years and—

(i) is receiving full-time instruction by day at any university, college, school or other educational establishment,

(ii) is an apprentice, or

(iii) is, by reason of physical or mental infirmity, incapable of self-support and likely to remain so incapable for a prolonged period,

(2) he is ordinarily resident in the State, and

(3) he is not detained in a reformatory or an industrial school and is not undergoing imprisonment or detention in legal custody.”,

and

(b) the substitution for subsection (1) of section 6 (inserted by the Social Welfare (Children's Allowances) Act, 1952) of the following subsection:

“(1) Subject to the provisions of the Social Welfare (Children's Allowances) Acts, 1944 to 1973, and of the regulations thereunder, a person who is found to be qualified for a children's allowance shall, so long as he remains so qualified, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas a monthly allowance at the rate of—

(a) £2 where he is qualified in respect of one qualified child,

(b) £5 where he is qualified in respect of two qualified children,

(c) £8.75 where he is qualified in respect of three or more qualified children, plus £3.75 in respect of each qualified child in excess of three.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1973.

7 Old age (care) allowance (new rate).

7.—(1) Section 21 (1) of the Act of 1970, which provides for old age (care) allowance, is hereby amended by the substitution of “£3.50” for “£3” (inserted by the Act of 1972).

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 5th day of July, 1973.

8 Social assistance allowance for unmarried mothers.

8.—(1) An allowance (in this section referred to as a social assistance allowance) shall, subject to regulations, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas to a woman—

(a) who is unmarried,

(b) who has not attained pensionable age,

(c) who has at least one qualified child residing with her, and

(d) who satisfies the conditions as to means specified for the purposes of this subsection by regulations.

(2) The rate of a social assistance allowance shall be the same as the rate of the widow's (non-contributory) pension which would be payable to the woman under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1973, if she were a widow.

(3) A child shall be a qualified child for the purposes of this section in relation to a woman if she is the mother of the child and if, on the assumption that she was a widow, the child would be a qualified child in relation to her for the purposes of the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1973.

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

(5) The Minister may make regulations with respect to a social assistance allowance and such regulations may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,—

(a) specify the circumstances in which a woman is to be regarded for the purposes of this section as being an unmarried mother,

(b) apply (with or without modification), or make provisions corresponding (with or without modification) to, any provisions of or made under the Act of 1952 and the Acts amending and extending that Act, and

(c) in applying the provisions of section 46 of the Act of 1952, provide, notwithstanding anything contained in that section, that in any case in which a social assistance allowance is, by virtue of a revised decision given by a deciding officer or an appeals officer, disallowed or reduced, such amount as the Minister may direct of the allowance that has been paid in excess of the rate determined by that decision to have been payable shall be recoverable as a debt due to the State.

(6) This section shall come into operation on the 5th day of July, 1973.

9 Removal of restriction on qualification for unemployment assistance in the case of certain widows and spinsters.

9.—(1) For the purpose of satisfying the conditions specified in sections 10 (3) (f) and 15 (1) (f) of the Act of 1933 (inserted by paragraph 1 of Part 1 of the Sixth Schedule to the Act of 1952), any employment contribution under the Act of 1952 shall, in the case of a widow or spinster who has no dependant, be reckonable, and, accordingly, subparagraph (ii) of each of the said sections is hereby amended by the deletion of “at the ordinary rate”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 1st day of October, 1973.

10 Removal of concession relating to certain cash income in calculating means for old age pensions.

10.—(1) Rule 3 (1) (c) of the Seventh Schedule to the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by the deletion of the matter inserted by section 19 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1961.

(2) No person who, immediately before the commencement of this section, was entitled to an old age pension shall, on or after such commencement, receive less by way of such pension than such person would have received if this section had not been enacted.

(3) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of July, 1973.

11 Reduction of qualifying age for pension purposes.

11.—(1) Each of the following provisions is hereby amended by the substitution of “sixty-nine” for “seventy” where it occurs:—

(a) section 2 (1) of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1908,

(b) section 6 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1932,

(c) section 10 (3) (b) of the Act of 1933,

(d) sections 21 (inserted by the Act of 1964), 22 (1) and 36 (a) (i) of the Act of 1935, and

(e) sections 80 (2) and 81 (1) of the Act of 1952.

(2) (a) Section 2 (1) of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by the substitution of “sixty-nine” for “seventy” in the definition of “pensionable age”.

(b) Section 26 (4) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1968, and amended by the Act of 1972) of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended by the substitution of “pensionable age” for “the age of 70 years”.

(c) Section 81 (1) of the Act of 1952 (as amended by this Act) is hereby amended by the substitution of “sixty-ninth anniversary” for “seventieth anniversary”.

(d) Sections 21 (1) (as amended by this Act) and 22 (1) (b) of the Act of 1970 are hereby amended by the substitution of “pensionable age” for “the age of seventy years” where it occurs.

(3) This section shall come into operation on the 2nd day of July, 1973.

12 Removal of remuneration limit in respect of insured persons.

12.—(1) Employment, otherwise than by way of manual labour, at a rate of remuneration exceeding in value £1,600 a year shall cease to be an employment excepted from insurance under the Act of 1952 and, accordingly, Part II of the First Schedule to that Act is hereby amended by the deletion of paragraph 1 (inserted by the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1965, and amended by the Social Welfare (Remuneration Limit for Insured Persons) Order, 1971 (S.I. No. 163 of 1971)).

(2) This section shall come into operation on such date as the Minister by order appoints for that purpose.

13 New rates of voluntary contributions and removal of liability of certain widows, deserted wives and unmarried mothers for employment contributions.

13.—(1) Section 6 of the Act of 1952 is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution in subsection (2) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1960), for the rate of voluntary contribution set forth in each paragraph mentioned in column (1) of the following Table, of the rate set forth, opposite the mention of that paragraph in the said column (1), in column (2) of that Table:

TABLE

Paragraph of Section 6 (2)	Rate of Contribution
(1)	(2)
Paragraph (a)	54p
Paragraph (b)	£134

and

(b) by the insertion after subsection (9) of the following subsection:

“(10) In the case of an employed contributor who is in receipt of a widow's (contributory) pension, a widow's (non-contributory) pension, deserted wife's benefit, a deserted wife's allowance or a social assistance allowance under section 8 of the Social Welfare Act, 1973, the rate of employment contribution specified in the Second Schedule to this Act as payable by the employed contributor shall not be payable.”.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the 2nd day of July, 1973.

14 Employment contributions (new rates).