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Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023

Type Act

Publication 2023-12-14

State In force

Source Irish Statute Book

Reform history JSON API

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, construction and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023.

(2) The Social Welfare Acts and this Act (other than sections 21 and 22) shall be construed together as one Act.

(3) Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 20, Part 3 and Part 4 (other than section 52) come into operation on 1 January 2024.

(4) Section 15(b) comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Social Protection may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

2. Definitions

2. In this Act—

“Act of 2022” means the Social Welfare Act 2022;

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

PART 2 Amendments of Social Welfare Acts

3. Amendment of section 13 of Principal Act employment contributions

3. Section 13 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (4A), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) the exercise, on or before 31 December 2023, of a right in accordance with section 128 of the Act of 1997, or”.

4. Maternity benefit new rate

4. Section 49(1) (amended by section 5 of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended, in paragraph (b), by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):

“(ii) €274.”.

5. Adoptive benefit new rate

5. Section 60(1) (amended by section 6 of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended, in paragraph (b), by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):

“(ii) €274.”.

6. Paternity benefit new rate

6. Section 61D (amended by section 7 of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended, by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) €274.”.

7. Parent’s benefit amendment of duration of benefit

7. (1) Section 61G(10) (amended by section 8 of the Social Welfare Act 2021) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (b)(i), by the substitution of “9 consecutive weeks” for “seven consecutive weeks”,

(b) in paragraph (b)(ii), by the substitution of “9 consecutive weeks” for “seven consecutive weeks”, and

(2) This section comes into operation on 1 August 2024.

8. Parent’s benefit new rate

8. Section 61I (amended by section 8 of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended, by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) €274.”.

9. Increase in rates of jobseeker’s benefit and jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed) relating to certain reckonable weekly earnings, certain weekly income and certain reckonable weekly income and certain periods

9. (1) Section 65A(1) (amended by section 9(1) of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraphs (a), (d) and (g), by the substitution of “€104.10” for “€98.70” in each place where it occurs,

(b) in paragraphs (b), (e) and (h), by the substitution of “€149.60” for “€141.90” in each place where it occurs, and

(2) Section 65A(2) (amended by section 9(2) of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “€84.30” for “€78.90”,

(b) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “€121.20” for “€113.50”, and

(3) Section 66(1A) (amended by section 9(3) of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended, by the substitution of “€99.70” for “€94.50”.

(4) Section 68F(1) (amended by section 9(4) of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “€104.10” for “€98.70”,

(b) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “€149.60” for “€141.90”, and

(5) Section 68F(2) (amended by section 9(5) of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “€84.30” for “€78.90”,

(b) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “€121.20” for “€113.50”, and

(6) Section 68G(2) (amended by section 9(6) of the Act of 2022) of the Principal Act is amended, by the substitution of “€99.70” for “€94.50”.

(7) This section comes into operation on 28 December 2023.

10. Amendment of section 119 of Principal Act

10. Section 119 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (3)(b), by the substitution of “illness benefit” for “disability benefit”.

11. Amendment of section 141 of Principal Act (entitlement to jobseeker’s allowance)

11. Section 141 of the Principal Act is amended, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3B):

“(3B) Notwithstanding subsection (3), for the purposes of payment of jobseeker’s allowance, in subsection (3A), ‘payment week’ shall be construed as a 6 day week commencing on the Wednesday of one week and ending on the Tuesday of the following week.”.

12. Increase for qualified children

12. (1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 156(1) (amended by section 17 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Act of 2018)—

(i) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “Schedule 4” for “Schedule 2”, and

(ii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “Schedule 4” for “Schedule 2”,

(b) in section 161B(1) (amended by section 17 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Act of 2018)—

(i) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “Schedule 4” for “Schedule 2”, and

(ii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “Schedule 4” for “Schedule 2”,

and

(i) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “Schedule 4” for “Schedule 2”, and

(ii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “Schedule 4” for “Schedule 2”.

(2) In this section, “Act of 2018” means the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Act 2018.

13. Amendment of section 219 of Principal Act

13. (1) Section 219(1) of the Principal Act is amended, in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “19 years” for “18 years”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 3 September 2024.

14. Working family payment

14. (1) The Principal Act is amended, by the substitution of the following section for section 228:

“228. Subject to this Act, an allowance (in this Act referred to as ‘working family payment’) 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, €645,

(b) in the case of a family which includes 2 children, €746,

(d) in the case of a family which includes 4 children, €938,

(e) in the case of a family which includes 5 children, €1,064,

(f) in the case of a family which includes 6 children, €1,180,

(g) in the case of a family which includes 7 children, €1,316, or

(h) in the case of a family which includes 8 or more children, €1,412.”.

(2) This section comes into operation on 4 January 2024.

15. Amendment of section 290 of Principal Act

15. Section 290 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (3B)—

(a) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “€5,000” for “€2,000”,

(b) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (c):

“(c) the interest rate charged in respect of such borrowings, the maximum amount of which shall not exceed the interest rate specified by the Minister for Finance in an order under section 38(3) of the Credit Union Act 1997,”,

(d) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (d):

“(e) the discharge, by the Minister, of any transaction fee, which shall not exceed €0.50 per transaction, in respect of which repayments in relation to borrowings under this section are to be made by a beneficiary.”.

16. Amendment of section 300 of Principal Act

16. Section 300 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (10)—

(a) by the substitution of “whether State pension (contributory)” for “whether old age (contributory) pension”, and

(b) by the substitution of “receive a State pension (contributory)” for “receive an old age (contributory) pension”.

17. Social insurance benefits new rates

17. (1) Schedule 2 (amended by section 13 of the Act of 2022) to the Principal Act is amended, by the substitution of the Parts set out in Schedule 1 for Parts 1 to 4 of Schedule 2 to the Principal Act.

(2) This section comes into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to jobseeker’s benefit and jobseeker’s benefit (self employed), on 28 December 2023,

(b) in so far as it relates to—

(i) illness benefit,

(ii) health and safety benefit, and

(iii) injury benefit,

on 1 January 2024,

(i) carer’s benefit,

(ii) invalidity pension, and

(iii) a payment referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of “relevant payment” in section 178(1) of the Principal Act,

on 4 January 2024, and

(d) in so far as it relates to—

(i) death benefit under Chapter 13 (other than section 84) of the Principal Act,

(ii) widow’s (contributory) pension,

(iii) widower’s (contributory) pension,

(iv) surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension,

(v) State pension (contributory),

(vi) guardian’s payment (contributory),

(vii) disablement pension, and

(viii) disablement gratuity,

on 5 January 2024.

18. Amendment of Schedule 3 to Principal Act

18. Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is amended, in Rule 1A(2) of Part 4, by the substitution of “pensionable age” for “the age of 65 years”.

19. Social assistance payments new rates

19. (1) Schedule 4 (amended by section 15 of the Act of 2022) to the Principal Act is amended, by the substitution of the Parts set out in Schedule 2 for Parts 1 to 3 of Schedule 4 to the Principal Act.

(2) This section comes into operation—

(a) in so far as it relates to—

(i) jobseeker’s allowance (other than where payable in accordance with section 148A of the Principal Act), and

(ii) farm assist,

on 27 December 2023,

(b) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on 1 January 2024,

(d) in so far as it relates to—

(i) one-parent family payment (other than where payable in respect of a widow, widower or surviving civil partner),

(ii) jobseeker’s allowance payable in accordance with section 148A of the Principal Act,

(iii) a payment referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of “relevant payment” in section 178(1) of the Principal Act, and

(iv) carer’s allowance,

on 4 January 2024, and

(e) in so far as it relates to—

(i) State pension (non-contributory),

(ii) blind pension,

(iii) guardian’s payment (non-contributory),

(iv) widow’s (non-contributory) pension,

(v) widower’s (non-contributory) pension,

(vi) surviving civil partner’s (non-contributory) pension, and

(vii) one-parent family payment (payable in respect of a widow, widower or surviving civil partner),

on 5 January 2024.

20. Domiciliary care allowance new rate

20. Part 5 of Schedule 4 (amended by section 16 of the Act of 2022) to the Principal Act is amended, by the substitution of “€340.00” for “€330.00”.

PART 3 Statutory Sick Pay

21. Amendment of section 5 of Sick Leave Act 2022

21. Section 5 of the Sick Leave Act 2022 is amended—

(a) in subsection (4), by the substitution of “Subject to subsection (4A), the first day” for “The first day”,

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4):

“(4A) An employee shall not be entitled to statutory sick leave where, on the immediately preceding normal working day, that employee was on sick leave—

(a) constituting statutory sick leave in the immediately previous calendar year, or

(b) for which the employee was entitled to illness benefit or injury benefit.”,

and

“(10) In this section—

‘Act of 2005’ means the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005;

‘illness benefit’ has the same meaning as it has in Chapter 8 of Part 2 of the Act of 2005;

‘injury benefit’ has the same meaning as it has in Chapter 13 of Part 2 of the Act of 2005;

‘normal working day’ means any day which the employee would ordinarily work for his or her employer if the employee had not been incapable of doing so due to illness or injury;

‘registered medical practitioner’ has the same meaning as it has in the Medical Practitioners Act 2007.”.

22. Amendment of Schedule 6 to Workplace Relations Act 2015

22. Schedule 6 to the Workplace Relations Act 2015 is amended—

(a) in paragraph 38 of Part 1, by the substitution of “Section 14” for “Section 12”, and

(b) in paragraph 38 of Part 2, by the substitution of “Section 14” for “Section 12”.

23. Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act

23. Section 2 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (1), by the insertion of the following definitions:

“ ‘Act of 2022’ means the Sick Leave Act 2022;

’sick leave scheme’ has the meaning given to it by section 9 of the Act of 2022;

’statutory sick leave’ has the meaning given to it by section 2 of the Act of 2022;

’statutory sick leave day’ has the meaning given to it by section 2 of the Act of 2022;”.

24. Illness benefit (entitlement to benefit)

24. Section 40 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (2A):

“(2B) Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (2A), a person shall not be entitled to illness benefit—

(a) for any day in respect of which the person is entitled to statutory sick leave under the Act of 2022, or

(b) for any day in respect of which the person, where he or she is otherwise entitled to statutory sick leave under the Act of 2022 is, instead of and in substitution for that entitlement to the statutory sick leave days concerned, being provided by his or her employer with a sick leave scheme under the Act of 2022.

(2C) Subsection (2B) shall not apply in a case where an exemption is for the time being in force under section 10 of the Act of 2022 in respect of the employer of the person concerned.

(2D) Notwithstanding subsections (2), (2A) and (2B), a person shall not be entitled to illness benefit for the first day of any such entitlement, where in the immediately preceding 6 days the person is entitled to statutory sick leave under the Act of 2022 in respect of a Sunday.”,

and

(b) in subsection (3), by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (ea):

“(eb) for the purpose of paragraph (ea), in calculating the total of 624 days, the following days shall, in addition to any days in respect of which the person was in receipt of illness benefit, be included in the calculation:

(i) any statutory sick leave days under the Act of 2022, other than the first 3 days of such sick leave;

(ii) any day in respect of which the person, where he or she is otherwise entitled to statutory sick leave under the Act of 2022 is, instead of and in substitution for that entitlement to the statutory sick leave days concerned, being provided by his or her employer with a sick leave scheme under the Act of 2022, other than the first 3 days of payment under such scheme.”.

25. Illness benefit (conditions for receipt)

25. Section 41 of the Principal Act is amended, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5A):

“(5B) For the purpose of subsection (5), in calculating the total of 312 days, the following days shall, in addition to any days in respect of which the person was in receipt of illness benefit, be included in the calculation:

(a) any statutory sick leave days under the Act of 2022, other than the first 3 days of such sick leave;

(b) any day in respect of which the person, where he or she is otherwise entitled to statutory sick leave under the Act of 2022 is, instead of and in substitution for that entitlement to the statutory sick leave days concerned, being provided by his or her employer with a sick leave scheme under the Act of 2022.”.

26. Illness benefit (duration of payment)

26. Section 44 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1D):

“(1E) For the purpose of subsection (1), in calculating the total of 312 days the following days shall, in addition to any days in respect of which the person was in receipt of illness benefit, be included in the calculation:

(a) any statutory sick leave days under the Act of 2022, other than the first 3 days of such sick leave;

and

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (7A):

“(7B) for the purpose of subsection (7), in calculating the 312th day, the following days shall, in addition to any days in respect of which the person was in receipt of illness benefit, be included in the calculation:

(a) any statutory sick leave days under the Act of 2022, other than the first 3 days of such sick leave;

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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.