Social Welfare Act 2011

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, construction and collective citation.

1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act 2011.

(2) The Social Welfare Acts and Parts 1 and 2 of this Act shall be read together as one.

(3) The Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2007 and Part 3 of this Act shall be read together as one and may be cited together as the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2011.

2. Definitions.

2.— In this Act—

“Act of 2010” means the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2010;

“Principal Act” means the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005.

PART 2 Amendments to Social Welfare Acts

3. Disablement benefit.

3.— (1) Section 75 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) by substituting “not less than 15 per cent” for “not less than 1 per cent”,

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) In the case of any assessment of disablement—

(a) where the period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 January 2012, or

(b) where there has been a provisional assessment, and—

(i) the initial period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 January 2012, and

(ii) any subsequent period to be taken into account by the assessment begins on or after 1 January 2012,

subsection (1) shall be read as if ‘not less than 1 per cent’ were substituted for ‘not less than 15 per cent’.”,

(c) in subsection (2) by substituting “would amount to less than 15 per cent” for “would not amount to 1 per cent”,

(d) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) In the case of any assessment of disablement—

(a) where the period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 January 2012, or

(b) where there has been a provisional assessment, and—

(i) the initial period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 January 2012, and

(ii) any subsequent period to be taken into account by the assessment begins on or after 1 January 2012,

subsection (2) shall be read as if ‘would not amount to 1 per cent’ were substituted for ‘would amount to less than 15 per cent’.”,

(e) in subsection 10(a) by substituting “not less than 15 per cent” for “not less than 10 per cent”, and

(f) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (11):

“(11) (a) In the case of any assessment of disablement where the period to be taken into account by the assessment began before 1 May 1990, subsection (10)(a) shall be read as if the reference to ‘and the extent of disablement is assessed as amounting to not less than 15 per cent and not more than 19 per cent’ were deleted.

(b) In the case of any assessment of disablement where the period to be taken into account by the assessment began on or after 1 May 1990 but before 1 January 2012, subsection (10)(a) shall be read as if a reference to ‘and the extent of disablement is assessed as amounting to not less than 10 per cent and not more than 19 per cent’ were substituted for the reference to ‘and the extent of disablement is assessed as amounting to not less than 15 per cent and not more than 19 per cent’.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2012.

4. Qualified child increase.

4.— (1) Section 77A (inserted by section 6 of the Social Welfare Act 2010) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) Subject to subsection (3), any increase of disablement pension payable under subsection (1)(b) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount in any case where the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary is not a qualified adult and subsection (1)(b) shall be read and have effect accordingly.”,

and

(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply and no increase of disablement pension payable under subsection (1)(b) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.”.

(2) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 102 (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010)—

(i) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), any increase of carer’s benefit payable under subsection (1) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable at the rate of one-half of the appropriate amount and subsection (1) shall be read and have effect accordingly.”,

and

(ii) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (2):

“(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply and no increase of carer’s benefit payable under subsection (1) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.

(4) Subsection (3) shall not apply in the case of any claim for carer’s benefit which is made before 5 July 2012.”,

(b) in section 112 (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010)—

(i) in subsection (3), by substituting “Subject to subsections (3A) and (3B), any increase of” for “Any increase of”, and

(ii) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (3):

“(3A) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of State pension (contributory) payable under subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.

(3B) Subsection (3A) shall not apply in the case of any claim for State pension (contributory) which is made before 6 July 2012.”,

(c) in section 117 (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010)—

(i) in subsection (3), by substituting “Subject to subsections (3A) and (3B), any increase of” for “Any increase of”, and

(ii) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (3):

“(3A) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of State pension (transition) payable under subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.

(3B) Subsection (3A) shall not apply in the case of any claim for State pension (transition) which is made before 5 July 2012.”,

and

(d) in section 122 (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010)—

(i) in subsection (3), by substituting “Subject to subsections (3A) and (3B), any increase of” for “Any increase of”, and

(ii) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (3):

“(3A) Subsection (3) shall not apply and no increase of invalidity pension payable under subsection (2) in respect of a qualified child who normally resides with the beneficiary and with the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the beneficiary shall be payable where the weekly income of that spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, calculated or estimated in the manner that may be prescribed, exceeds the amount that may be prescribed.

(3B) Subsection (3A) shall not apply in the case of any claim for invalidity pension which is made before 5 July 2012.”.

(3) Subsection (2) comes into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to paragraphs (a), (c) and (d), on 5 July 2012, and

(b) in so far as it relates to paragraph (b), on 6 July 2012.

5. State pension (contributory) and State pension (transition) — conditions for receipt.

5.— (1) Section 109 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) In the case of a person who attained pensionable age before 6 April 2002, subsection (1) shall be read as if the following condition were substituted for the condition in paragraph (b):

‘(b) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 156 contribution weeks since his or her entry into insurance,’.”,

and

(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) In the case of a person, other than a person who on or before 6 April 1997 is a voluntary contributor paying contributions under Chapter 4 of Part 2, who attained pensionable age on or after 6 April 2002, but before 6 April 2012, subsection (1) shall be read as if the following condition were substituted for the condition in paragraph (b):

‘(b) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 260 contribution weeks since his or her entry into insurance,’.”.

(2) Section 115 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) In the case of a person who attained the age of 65 years before 6 April 2002, subsection (1) shall be read as if the following condition were substituted for the condition in paragraph (b):

‘(b) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 156 contribution weeks since his or her entry into insurance,’.”,

and

(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) In the case of a person, other than a person who on or before 6 April 1997 is a voluntary contributor paying contributions under Chapter 4 of Part 2, who attained the age of 65 years on or after 6 April 2002, but before 6 April 2012, subsection (1) shall be read as if the following condition were substituted for the condition in paragraph (b):

‘(b) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 260 contribution weeks since his or her entry into insurance,’.”.

(3) This section comes into operation on 6 April 2012.

6. Widow’s (contributory) pension, widower’s (contributory) pension and surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension.

6.— (1) Section 125 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1) (amended by section 17 of the Act of 2010) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) that the widow, widower or surviving civil partner has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 260 contribution weeks in the period beginning with his or her entry into insurance and ending immediately before the relevant time, and”,

and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) Where the date of death occurs before 27 December 2013, subsection (1)(a) shall be read as if ‘156’ were substituted for ‘260’.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 27 December 2013.

7. Entitlement to one-parent family payment.

7.— (1) Section 173 (amended by section 25 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (4) by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) payable for a period not exceeding 6 consecutive months from the date on which, but for this subsection, that person would have ceased to be so entitled.”,

(b) by substituting the following subsection for subsection (5B):

“(5B) Subject to subsection (5C), subsections (4), (5) and (5A) shall not apply in any case where a person, by virtue of his or her gross weekly earnings exceeding the amount specified for the purposes of subsection (3), ceases to be entitled to one-parent family payment on or after 5 January 2012.”,

and

(c) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (5B):

“(5C) Notwithstanding subsection (5B), a person who qualifies for the continuation of one-parent family payment in accordance with subsection (4) before 5 January 2012 may continue to receive that payment for the unexpired portion of the period of continuation which occurs on or after 5 January 2012 if—

(a) the qualified person continues, during that unexpired portion of that period, to satisfy subsection (4), and

(b) the total period of the continuation of that payment does not exceed, in accordance with subsection (4), 6 months from the date on which, but for that subsection, that person would have ceased to be so entitled.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 5 January 2012.

8. Child benefit — amendments.

8.— (1) Section 221 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following subsection for subsection (1) (amended by section 5 of the Social Welfare Act 2010):

“(1) Subject to this Act, a qualified person shall be paid a monthly benefit—

(a) of the amount set out in column (2) of Part 4 of Schedule 4 for a qualified child referred to in column (1) of that Part of that Schedule opposite that amount for any entitlement to child benefit that occurs during the period beginning on 1 January 2012 and expiring on 31 December 2012, and

(b) of €140 for each qualified child in respect of any entitlement to child benefit that occurs on or after 1 January 2013.”.

(2) Schedule 4 to the Principal Act is amended by substituting the following Part for Part 4 (amended by section 5 of the Social Welfare Act 2010):

“PART 4

Qualified child in respect of whom child benefit is payable (1)	Monthly rate of child benefit payable per qualified child during the period beginning on 1 January 2012 and expiring on 31 December 2012 (2)
1. Each of the first 2 qualified children 2. Third qualified child 3. Each qualified child in excess of 3 qualified children	€ 140.00 148.00 160.00

”.

(3) Section 221 of the Principal Act is amended by deleting subsections (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8).

(4) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2012.

9. Late claims.

9.— (1) Section 241(2) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a) (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010) by substituting “6 months” for “12 months”, and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) In the case of a claim for—

(a) State pension (transition) made before 5 April 2012, or

(b) State pension (contributory), widow’s (con-tributory) pension, widower’s (contributory) pension, surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension and guardian’s payment (contributory) made before 6 April 2012,

subsection (2)(a) shall be read as if ‘12 months’ were substituted for ‘6 months’.”.

(2) This section comes into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to State pension (transition), on 5 April 2012, and

(b) in so far as it relates to State pension (contributory), widow’s (contributory) pension, widower’s (contributory) pension, surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension and guardian’s payment (contributory), on 6 April 2012.

10. Schedule 3 — amendments.

10.— (1) Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in Part 2, in Rule 1(9) (amended by section 26 of the Act of 2010)—

(i) in subparagraph (b)(ii)(I), by substituting “€127” for “€254”,

(ii) in subparagraph (b)(ii)(II), by substituting “€190.50” for “€381”, and

(iii) by substituting “85 per cent” for “70 per cent”,

(b) in Part 3 (amended by section 24 of the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006) by deleting Rule 1(2)(b)(ix), and

(c) in Table 2 by deleting paragraph 9.

(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2012.

11. One-parent family payment — means assessment.

11.— (1) Part 5 of Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is amended in Rule 1(4) (amended by section 8 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008) by substituting the following subparagraphs for subparagraph (b):

“(b) in calculating the weekly earnings for the purposes of subparagraph (a) for any period commencing on or after 1 January 2012 but before 1 January 2013, an amount of €130 together with half the weekly earnings in excess of that amount shall be disregarded,

(c) in calculating the weekly earnings for the purposes of subparagraph (a) for any period commencing on or after 1 January 2013 but before 1 January 2014, an amount of €110 together with half the weekly earnings in excess of that amount shall be disregarded,

(d) in calculating the weekly earnings for the purposes of subparagraph (a) for any period commencing on or after 1 January 2014 but before 1 January 2015, an amount of €90 together with half the weekly earnings in excess of that amount shall be disregarded,

(e) in calculating the weekly earnings for the purposes of subparagraph (a) for any period commencing on or after 1 January 2015 but before 1 January 2016, an amount of €75 together with half the weekly earnings in excess of that amount shall be disregarded, and

(f) in calculating the weekly earnings for the purposes of subparagraph (a) for any period commencing on or after 1 January 2016, an amount of €60 together with half the weekly earnings in excess of that amount shall be disregarded;”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2012.

12. Disqualification from certain payments while participating in Community Employment.

12.— (1) The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 247A (inserted by section 27 of the Act of 2010):

“Disqualification from certain payments while participating in Community Employment.

247B.— (1) A person shall be disqualified from receiving—

(a) any benefit specified in section 39(1), other than—

(i) disablement benefit payable in accordance with section 75,

(ii) death benefit by way of a grant in respect of funeral expenses,

(iii) bereavement grant, and

(iv) widowed or surviving civil partner grant,

(b) an increase, payable under section 77, in disablement pension on account of incapacity,