LegalizeSocial Welfare Act 2004
1 Definitions.
1.— In this Act—
“Act of 2003” means the Social Welfare Act 2003;
“Principal Act” means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993.
2 Social insurance benefits (new rates).
2.— (1) The Second Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by substituting the Parts set out in Schedule A to this Act for Parts I to IV (inserted by section 2(1) of the Act of 2003) of the said Second Schedule.
(2) This section comes into operation—
(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment benefit, on 30 December 2004,
(b) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, health and safety benefit, injury benefit and disablement gratuity, on 3 January 2005,
(c) in so far as it relates to carer's benefit, retirement pension, invalidity pension and a relevant payment by virtue of section 18(1)(a) of the Social Welfare Act 1996, on 6 January 2005, and
(d) in so far as it relates to disablement pension, death benefit under section 60, 61 or 62 of the Principal Act, old age (contributory) pension, widow's and widower's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance, on 7 January 2005.
3 Social assistance payments (new rates).
3.— (1) The Fourth Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by substituting the Parts set out in Schedule Bto this Act for Parts I, II, IIA, IIB and IIC (inserted by section 3(1) of the Act of 2003) of the said Fourth Schedule.
(2) This section comes into operation—
(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance, pre-retirement allowance and farm assist, on 29 December 2004,
(b) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on 3 January 2005,
(c) in so far as it relates to disability allowance, on 5 January 2005,
(d) in so far as it relates to one-parent family payment (other than where payable in respect of a widow or widower), carer's allowance and a relevant payment by virtue of section 18(1)(b) or (c) of the Social Welfare Act 1996, on 6 January 2005, and
(e) in so far as it relates to old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's and widower's (non-contributory) pension, one-parent family payment payable in respect of a widow or widower and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on 7 January 2005.
4 Family income supplement (new weekly rates).
4.—(1) The Principal Act is amended by substituting the following for section 198 (inserted by section 4(1) of the Act of 2003):
“198. Subject to this Act, an allowance (in this Act referred to as ‘family income supplement’) shall be payable out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas in respect of a family where the weekly family income is less than—
(a) in the case of a family which includes only 1 child, €446,
(b) in the case of a family which includes 2 children, €472,
(c) in the case of a family which includes 3 children, €497,
(d) in the case of a family which includes 4 children, €522,
(e) in the case of a family which includes 5 children, €554,
(f) in the case of a family which includes 6 children, €580,
(g) in the case of a family which includes 7 children, €601, or
(h) in the case of a family which includes 8 or more children, €623.”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 6 January 2005.
5 Employment contributions (amendment to earnings ceiling).
5.—(1) Section 10(1)(c) (as amended by section 5(1) of the Act of 2003) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “€44,180” for “€42,160”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2005.
6 Optional contributions (amendment to income ceiling).
6.—(1) Section 24B(1)(b) (as amended by section 6(1)(b) of the Act of 2003) of the Principal Act is amended by substituting “€44,180” for “€42,160”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2005.
7 Maternity and adoptive benefit (new rate).
7.—(1) Sections 39(1)(a) and 41I(1)(a) (inserted by section 11 of the Social Welfare Act 1997) of the Principal Act are amended by substituting “75 per cent” for “70 per cent”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2005.
8 Amendment to Health Contributions Act 1979.
8.—(1) The Health Contributions Act 1979 is amended in section 7A (as amended by section 39 of the Social Welfare Act 2001):
(a) in paragraph (1)(a) by substituting “€400” for “€356”,
(b) in paragraph (1)(b) by substituting “€20,800” for “€18,512”, and
(c) in subsection (2) by substituting “€20,800” for “€18,512”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2005.
9 Short title and construction.
9.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act 2004.
(2) The Social Welfare Acts and this Act (other than section 8) shall be read together as one.
SCHEDULE A
“PART I
| Description of benefit | Weekly rate | Increase for qualified adult (where payable) | Increase for each qualified child (where payable) | Increase for prescribed relative under section 167 (where payable) | Increase where the person is living alone (where payable) | Increase where the person has attained the age of 80 years (where payable) | Increase where the person is ordinarily resident on an island off the coast of Ireland (where payable) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) |
| € | € | € | € | € | € | € | |
| 1.Disability Benefit, Unemployment Benefit, Injury Benefit and Health and Safety Benefit | 148.80 | 98.70 | 16.80 | — | — | — | — |
| 2.Death Benefit: | |||||||
| (a) pension payable to a widow or widower (section 60) | 177.60 | — | 21.60 | 103.10 | 7.70 | 2.00 | 12.70 |
| additional increase for a widow or widower (under section 60) who has attained pensionable age | 6.10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| (b) pension payable to a parent: | |||||||
| (i) reduced rate | 85.90 | — | — | 103.10 | 7.70 | — | — |
| (ii) maximum rate | 177.60 | — | — | 103.10 | 7.70 | — | — |
| (c) pension payable to an orphan | 124.30 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3.Old Age (Contributory) Pension and Retirement Pension: | 179.30 | 119.50 | 19.30 | 103.10 | 7.70 | 6.40 | 12.70 |
| additional increase for a qualified adult who has attained pensionable age | — | 19.00 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4.Invalidity Pension: | 154.30 | 110.10 | 19.30 | 103.10 | 7.70 | 6.40 | 12.70 |
| additional increase for a beneficiary who has attained the age of 65 years | 25.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| additional increase where qualified adult has attained pensionable age | — | 28.40 | — | — | — | — | |
| 5.Widow's and Widower's (Contributory) Pension and a relevant payment by virtue of section 18(1)(a) of the Social Welfare Act 1996: | 154.30 | — | 21.60 | 103.10 | 7.70 | 6.40 | 12.70 |
| additional increase for a beneficiary who has attained pensionable age | 25.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6.Orphan's (Contributory) Allowance | 121.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7.Carer's Benefit: | |||||||
| (a) in the case of a person to whom section 82D(1)(b) applies | 163.70 | — | 16.80 | — | — | — | — |
| (b) in the case of a person to whom section 82D(1)(a) applies | 245.60 | — | 16.80 | — | — | — | — |
| Description of Grant | Amount | ||||||
| --- | --- | ||||||
| (1) | (2) | ||||||
| € | |||||||
| 1.Disablement Benefit: Maximum gratuity | 12,590 | ||||||
| 2.Death Benefit | 635 |
PART III
| Degree of disablement | Weekly rate |
|---|---|
| (1) | (2) |
| € | |
| 100 per cent | 179.90 |
| 90 per cent | 161.90 |
| 80 per cent | 143.90 |
| 70 per cent | 125.90 |
| 60 per cent | 107.90 |
| 50 per cent | 90.00 |
| 40 per cent | 72.00 |
| 30 per cent | 54.00 |
| 20 per cent | 36.00 |
PART IV
| Description of Increase | Weekly Rate | Increase where the person is living alone | Increase where the person is ordinarily resident on an island off the coast of Ireland where payable) |
|---|---|---|---|
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) |
| € | € | € | |
| 1.Increase where the person is permanently incapable of work | 148.80 | 7.70 | 12.70 |
| 2.Increase where the person requires constant attendance | 163.70 | — | — |
”.
SCHEDULE B
“PART I
This document does not substitute the official text published in the Irish Statute Book. We accept no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the transcription of the original into this format.