SOCIAL WELFARE (NO. 2) ACT, 1989

Number 12 of 1989

SOCIAL WELFARE (NO. 2) ACT, 1989

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, 1981 TO 1989. [7th June, 1989]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1 Unemployment assistance — couples.

1.—Section 12 (as amended by section 25 of the Social Welfare Act, 1988) of the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1985, is hereby amended—

• (a) by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

• “(1) In the case of a couple both of whom are entitled to be paid unemployment assistance, the total amount payable to them pursuant to Chapter 2 of Part III of the Principal Act shall not exceed the amount which would be payable if only one of them was entitled to be paid unemployment assistance and the other was an adult dependant, and each of them shall be entitled to be paid one-half of the amount which would be payable to him if the other were his adult dependant.”, and

• (b) by the insertion after subsection (3) of the following subsections:

• “(4) Where one of a couple is entitled to disability benefit, unemployment benefit, injury benefit, disablement pension, old age (contributory) pension, old age pension, retirement pension or invalidity pension and the other is entitled to unemployment assistance, the total of the amount payable to them by way of such benefit or pension, as the case may be, and such unemployment assistance (in this subsection referred to as ‘the relevant amount’) shall not exceed the total amount of benefit or pension, as the case may be, or the total amount of unemployment assistance, whichever is the greater (in this subsection referred to as ‘the greater amount’), that would be payable if only one of the couple were in receipt of benefit, pension or unemployment assistance, as the case may be, and the benefit, pension or unemployment assistance included an increase in respect of the other as his adult dependant; and, if the relevant amount would but for this subsection exceed the greater amount, the amount of unemployment assistance payable to the spouse who is entitled to such unemployment assistance shall be reduced by the amount of the excess.

• (5) In this section ‘couple’ means a married couple who are living together or a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as man and wife.

• (6) In subsection (4) of this section ‘spouse’ means each person of a couple in relation to the other.”.

2 Certain claims.

2.—(1) A person who, on or after the 9th day of May, 1989, claims or has claimed, in respect of a period before the passing of this Act, unemployment assistance of an amount to which he would not be entitled if section 12 were applicable shall be entitled to be paid such assistance only in accordance with section 12.

• (2)
• (a) A person who has not, before the 9th day of May, 1989, specifically claimed, in respect of a period before the passing of this Act, any additional amount for unemployment assistance being an amount to which he would not be entitled if section 12 were applicable shall not be entitled to be paid the additional amount.

• (b) In paragraph (a) of this subsection “claimed” means claimed in writing from the Minister or claimed in proceedings instituted against the Minister in any court.

• (3) In this section “section 12” means subsections (1), (4), (5) and (6) of section 12 (as amended by this Act) of the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1985.

3 Non-recoverability.

3.—An amount properly paid to any person before the passing of this Act by way of unemployment assistance which as a result of this Act would be recoverable by the Minister shall not be so recoverable.

4 Short title, construction and collective citation.

4.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1989.

• (2) The Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1989, and this Act shall be construed as one.

• (3) The collective citation “the Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1989” shall include this Act.