Social Welfare Act, 1987
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

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paragraphs: —In this Act—
“the Act of 1984” means the Social Welfare Act, 1984 ;
“the Act of 1985” means the Social Welfare Act, 1985 ;
“the Act of 1986” means the Social Welfare Act, 1986 ;
“the Principal Act” means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 .
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paragraphs: —(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I to IV (inserted by the Act of 1986) of the Second Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule A to this Act.
(2) This section shall come into operation—
(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment benefit, on the 16th day of July, 1987,
(b) in so far as it relates to disability benefit, maternity allowance, injury benefit, disablement gratuity and disablement pension, on the 20th day of July, 1987,
(c) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's benefit, invalidity pension and retirement pension, on the 23rd day of July, 1987, and
(d) in so far as it relates to death benefit under section 50, 51 or 52 of the Principal Act, old age (contributory) pension, widow's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance, on the 24th day of July, 1987.
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paragraphs: —(1) The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for Parts I and III (inserted by the Act of 1986) of the Fourth Schedule thereto of the Parts set out in Schedule B to this Act.
(2) This section shall come into operation—
(a) in so far as it relates to unemployment assistance, on the 15th day of July, 1987,
(b) in so far as it relates to deserted wife's allowance, prisoner's wife's allowance, social assistance allowance and single woman's allowance, on the 23rd day of July, 1987,
(c) in so far as it relates to old age pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension and orphan's (non-contributory) pension, on the 24th day of July, 1987, and
(d) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on the 20th day of July, 1987.
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paragraphs: —(1) Section 232B (inserted by the Act of 1984) of the Principal Act (which relates to the entitlement to family income supplement) is hereby amended by—
(a) the substitution in paragraph (a) for “£100” (inserted by the Act of 1985) of “£104”, and
(b) the substitution in paragraph (b) for “£100” (inserted by the Act of 1985) of “£104” and for “£20” (inserted by the Act of 1986) of “£22”.
(2) Section 232C (inserted by the Act of 1984) of the Principal Act (which relates to the weekly rate of family income supplement) is hereby amended by—
(a) the substitution in subsection (1) for “one-third” (inserted by the Act of 1986) of “one-half”,
(b) the substitution in subsection (2) (a) for “£10” (inserted by the Act of 1986) of “£16”, and
(c) the substitution in subsection (2) (b) for “£10” (inserted by the Act of 1986) of “£16”, and for “£4” (inserted by the Act of 1986) of “£7”.
(3) This section shall come into operation on the 23rd day of July, 1987.
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paragraphs: —(1) Section 10 (1) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (c) (inserted by the Act of 1986) of the following paragraph:
“(c) Where in a particular contribution year an employed contributor's reckonable earnings have amounted to the sum of £15,500 and contributions under paragraph (b) have been paid in respect of those reckonable earnings, no further such contribution shall be payable in respect of any reckonable earnings of that employed contributor in that contribution year.”.
(2) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1987.
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paragraphs: —Any employer who, during the period commencing on the 16th day of December, 1986, and ending on the 31st day of January, 1987, employed, under and by virtue of the scheme administered by the Department of Social Welfare and known as the Employers' Pay-Related Social Insurance Exemption Scheme, additional employees shall not, during the period commencing on the 6th day of April, 1987, and ending on the 5th day of April, 1988. be liable to pay in respect of additional employees who constitute a net increase in the employer's workforce under the scheme all or any of the following, namely—
(a) the contribution specified in section 10 (1) (b) (ii) (as amended by the Social Welfare Act, 1982 ), of the Principal Act;
(b) the employment contribution specified in subsection (2) (a) (ii), and the increase specified in subsection (2) (b), of section 65 (as amended by the Act of 1986) of the Principal Act;
(c) the health contribution payable by an employer under section 5 (1) (b) of the Health Contributions Act, 1979 ;
(d) the youth employment levy payable under section 16 (c) of the Youth Employment Agency Act, 1981 ; or
(e) the employers' redundancy contribution payable under section 28 (inserted by section 3 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1979 , and extended by section 2 of the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984 ) of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 .
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paragraphs: —(1) The following section is hereby substituted for section 73 of the Principal Act (inserted by the Social Welfare Act, 1983 , and as amended by the Act of 1986):
“73.—The weekly rate of pay-related benefit payable to a person in any period of interruption of employment shall be, for any part of that period up to the 393rd day of incapacity for work or for any part of that period up to the 393rd day of unemployment, an amount equal to 12 per cent. of the part (if any) of his reckonable weekly earnings for the relevant income tax year that exceeds £62 but does not exceed such limit as stands prescribed for the time being, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed to restrict the total amount of benefit payable under this Part to the person in respect of any week.”.
(2) This section shall have effect in relation to any period of interruption of employment commencing on or after the 6th day of April, 1987.
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paragraphs: —(1) Section 19 of the Principal Act (which relates to contribution conditions for disability benefit) is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) (a) for “26 contribution weeks” of “39 contribution weeks”.
(2) Section 22 of the Principal Act (which relates to the duration of payment of disability benefit) is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) (a) for “156 contribution weeks” of “208 contribution weeks”.
(3) Section 25 of the Principal Act (which relates to contribution conditions for maternity allowance) is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ) for “26 contribution weeks” of “39 contribution weeks” in each place where it occurs.
(4) Section 30 of the Principal Act (which relates to contribution conditions for unemployment benefit) is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) (a) for “26 contribution weeks” of “39 contribution weeks”.
(5) Section 89 of the Principal Act (which relates to contribution conditions for invalidity pension) is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (1) (a) for “156 contribution weeks” of “208 contribution weeks”.
(6) (a) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to any period of interruption of employment commencing before the 6th day of April, 1987.
(b) Subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to any period of entitlement to disability benefit beyond 312 days, where such period commences before the 6th day of April, 1987.
(c) Subsection (3) of this section shall not apply to any entitlement to maternity allowance commencing before the 6th day of April, 1987.
(d) Subsection (4) of this section shall not apply to any period of interruption of employment commencing before the 6th day of April, 1987.
(e) Subsection (5) of this section shall not apply to any entitlement to invalidity pension commencing—
(i) before the 6th day of April, 1987, or
(ii) on or after the 6th day of April, 1987, in the case of a person who, immediately before that date, has been in receipt of disability benefit for a period greater than 312 days.
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paragraphs: —(1) Section 18 of the Principal Act (which relates to entitlement to disability benefit) is hereby amended by the insertion in subsection (6) after “one-sixth the appropriate weekly rate” of “subject to the total amount being paid at any time by virtue of this subsection being rounded up to the nearest 10p where it is a multiple of 5p but not also a multiple of 10p and being rounded to the nearest 10p where it is not a multiple of 5p or 10p”.
(2) Section 29 of the Principal Act (which relates to entitlement to unemployment benefit) is hereby amended—
(a) by the insertion in subsection (6) after “one-sixth of the appropriate weekly rate” of “subject to the total amount being paid at any time by virtue of this subsection being rounded up to the nearest 10p where it is a multiple of 5p but not also a multiple of 10p and being rounded to the nearest 10p where it is not a multiple of 5p or 10p”.
(b) by the insertion in subsection (7) (inserted by the Social Welfare Act, 1983 ) after “one-fifth of the appropriate weekly rate” of “subject to the total amount being paid at any time by virtue of this subsection being rounded up to the nearest 10p where it is a multiple of 5p but not also a multiple of 10p and being rounded to the nearest 10p where it is not a multiple of 5p or 10p”.
(3) (a) Subsection (1) of this section shall come into operation on the 20th day of July, 1987.
(b) Subsection (2) of this section shall come into operation on the 16th day of July, 1987.
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paragraphs: —(1) Section 76 (1) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (b) of the following paragraph:
“(b) the calculation of the amounts payable in respect of pay-related benefit in accordance with prescribed scales and for such adjustments of the amounts as may be necessary to facilitate the computation of the amounts and avoid multiples of other than 10p in the amounts;”.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, regulations made wholly or partly under section 76 (1) (b) of the Principal Act before the passing of this Act and in force at such passing shall continue in force until revoked.
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paragraphs: —The Principal Act is hereby amended—
(a) in subsection (4A) (inserted by the Act of 1986) of section 29 by—
(i) the addition to paragraph (e) after “Teamwork,” of “or”, and
(ii) the insertion after paragraph (e) of the following paragraphs:
“(f) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Social Welfare and known as the Part-Time Job Allowance Scheme, or
(g) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Education and known as the Educational Opportunities Scheme,”,
and
(b) in subsection (2A) (inserted by the Act of 1985) of section 135 by—
(i) the addition to paragraph (e) after “Teamwork,” of “or”, and
(ii) the insertion after paragraph (e) of the following paragraphs:
“(f) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Social Welfare and known as the Part-Time Job Allowance Scheme, or
(g) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Education and known as the Educational Opportunities Scheme,”,
and the said subsections (4A) and (2A), as so amended, are set out in the Table to this section.
TABLE
(4A) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (4), any period, not exceeding one year in duration, of—
(a) employment under a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as the Social Employment Scheme, or
(b) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, or
(c) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as the Alternance Scheme, or
(d) attendance at a training course provided or approved of by An Chomhairle OiliÃºna, or
(e) employment under a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as Teamwork, or
(f) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Social Welfare and known as the Part-Time Job Allowance Scheme, or
(g) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Education and known as the Educational Opportunities Scheme,
shall be disregarded in treating, pursuant to subsection (4) (c), any two periods of interruption of employment not separated by more than 13 weeks as one period of interruption of employment.
(2A) For the purposes of this Chapter, any period, being not longer than one year in duration, of—
(a) employment under a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as the Social Employment Scheme, or
(b) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, or
(c) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as the Alternance Scheme, or
(d) attendance at a training course provided or approved of by An Chomhairle OiliÃºna, or
(e) employment under a scheme administered by the Department of Labour and known as Teamwork, or
(f) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Social Welfare and known as the Part-Time Job Allowance Scheme, or
(g) participation in a scheme administered by the Department of Education and known as the Educational Opportunities Scheme,
shall be disregarded in treating, pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, any two continuous periods of unemployment not separated by more than 20 weeks as one continuous period of unemployment.
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paragraphs: —(1) Subsections (3) and (4) of section 123 (which relate to investment return in respect of payments made out of the Social Insurance Fund) of the Principal Act are hereby repealed.
(2) This section shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1987.
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paragraphs: —(1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act, 1987.
(2) The Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1986, and this Act shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1987.