S.I. No. 58/2017 - Health (Residential Support Services Maintenance and Accommodation Contributions) (Amendment) Regulations 2017

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 3rd March, 2017.

I, SIMON HARRIS, Minister for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 67C(2) (amended by section 43 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 (No. 33 of 2014)) of the Health Act 1970 (No. 1 of 1970), with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, hereby make the following regulations:

1.

• (2) The Principal Regulations and these Regulations may be cited together as the Health (Residential Support Services Maintenance and Accommodation Contributions) Regulations 2016 and 2017 and shall be construed together as one.

• (3) Subject to Regulation 3, these Regulations come into operation on 8 March 2017.

2.

“Act of 2005” means the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26 of 2005);

“Principal Regulations” means the Health (Residential Support Services Maintenance and Accommodation Contributions) Regulations 2016 ( S.I. No. 467 of 2016 );

“rate change date” means, in relation to a relevant benefit, the date specified in Regulation 3 in relation to that relevant benefit;

“relevant benefit” means a benefit, payment, pension, gratuity, assistance or allowance specified in Regulation 3;

“relevant benefit recipient” means an RSS recipient whose income includes a relevant benefit.

3.

• (a) Schedule 1 for Schedule 1 to the Principal Regulations,

• (b) Schedule 2 for Schedule 2 to the Principal Regulations, and

• (c) Schedule 3 for Schedule 3 to the Principal Regulations.

• (2) This Regulation comes into operation—

• (a) in relation to a person who is a relevant benefit recipient, on the rate change date applicable to the person in respect of a relevant benefit payable to that person or, where more than one rate change date applies to a relevant benefit recipient, on the earliest occurring rate change date, and

• (b) in relation to a person who is an RSS recipient, other than a relevant benefit recipient, on 17 March 2017.

• (3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), the rate change date—

• (a) in relation to jobseeker’s benefit, is 9 March 2017,

• (b) in relation to illness benefit, health and safety benefit and injury benefit, is 13 March 2017,

• (c) in relation to carer’s benefit and invalidity pension, is 16 March 2017,

• (d) in relation to a payment referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of “relevant payment” in section 178(1) of the Act of 2005 is—

(i)9 March 2017, in the case of a beneficiary who, on that date, has attained pensionable age, and

(ii)16 March 2017, in the case of a beneficiary who has not, on 9 March 2017, attained pensionable age,

• (e) in relation to death benefit under Chapter 13 (other than section 84) of the Act of 2005, widow’s (contributory) pension, widower’s (contributory) pension and surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension is—

(i)10 March 2017, in the case of a beneficiary who, on that date, has attained pensionable age, and

(ii)17 March 2017, in the case of a beneficiary who has not, on 10 March 2017, attained pensionable age,

• (f) in relation to State pension (contributory), is 10 March 2017,

• (g) in relation to guardian’s payment (contributory), disablement pension and disablement gratuity, is 17 March 2017,

• (h) in relation to jobseeker’s allowance (other than where payable in accordance with section 148A of the Act of 2005), pre-retirement allowance and farm assist, is 8 March 2017,

• (i) in relation to supplementary welfare allowance under section 197(1), 197(2) or 197(4) of the Act of 2005, is 13 March 2017,

• (j) in relation to disability allowance, is 15 March 2017,

• (k) in relation to one-parent family payment (other than where payable in respect of a widow, widower or surviving civil partner), jobseeker’s allowance payable in accordance with section 148A of the Act of 2005 and a payment referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of “relevant payment” in section 178(1) of the Act of 2005, is 16 March 2017,

• (l) in relation to carer’s allowance is—

(i)9 March 2017, in the case of a beneficiary who has, on that date, attained pensionable age, and

(ii)16 March 2017, in the case of a beneficiary who has not, on 9 March 2017, attained pensionable age,

• (m) in relation to State pension (non-contributory), is 10 March 2017, and

• (n) in relation to blind pension, guardian’s payment (non-contributory), widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension, surviving civil partner’s (non-contributory) pension and one-parent family payment (payable in respect of a widow, widower or surviving civil partner), is 17 March 2017.

• (4) In paragraph (3), a word or expression which is used in that paragraph and which is also used in section 21 or 25 of the Social Welfare Act 2016 (No. 15 of 2016) shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning in that paragraph as it has in section 21 or 25, as the case may be, of that Act.

Schedule 1

Part 3

Contributions (Category A accommodation)

*This column does not apply where the RSS recipient is required to pay a contribution under Regulation 8.

Schedule 2

Part 3

Contributions (Category B accommodation)

*This column does not apply where the RSS recipient is required to pay a contribution under Regulation 8.

Schedule 3

Part 3

Contributions (Category C accommodation)

*This column does not apply where the RSS recipient is required to pay a contribution under Regulation 8.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform,

28 February 2017.

PASCHAL DONOHOE,

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

1 March 2017.

SIMON HARRIS,

Minister for Health.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend three Schedules to the Health (Residential Support Services Maintenance and Accommodation Contributions) Regulations 2016 (“the Principal Regulations”) by adjusting upwards, by €5, the weekly income bands which determine the amount of the contribution a recipient of “residential support services” (as defined in section 67A(1) of the Health Act 1970 ) is required to make under the Principal Regulations.

The main effect of these amendments is that a social welfare payment recipient is not required to make an increased contribution under the Principal Regulations where the relevant social welfare payment rate increases by €5 in March 2017 (under section 21 or 25 of the Social Welfare Act 2016 ).

The income band adjustments provided for in these Regulations come into operation:

• • on the “rate change date” as defined in Regulation 2 (during the period 8 March 2017 to 17 March 2017) in respect of a “relevant benefit recipient” as defined in Regulation 2, and

• • on 17 March 2017 in respect of all other persons to whom the Principal Regulations apply.