National Health Insurance (Arrears) Regulations, 1946.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Insurance (Arrears) Regulations, 1946.
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paragraphs: In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires :—
the expression " the Minister " means the Minister for Local Government and Public Health ;
the expression " the Society " means Cumann an Ã?rachais NÃ¡isiÃºnta ar ShlÃ¡inte ;
the expression " the Act of 1918 " means the National Health Insurance Act, 1918 ;
the expression " the Acts " means the National Health Insurance Acts, 1911 to 1942, as amended by any subsequent enactment ;
the expression " contribution year " means any period commencing on the 27th Monday in any year and terminating on the day preceding the 27th Monday in the next year ;
the expression " employed " means employed within the meaning of the Acts and " employment and " unemployed " shall be construed accordingly.
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paragraphs: These Regulations relate only to insured persons who are members of the Society.
4 Arrears not to accrue during periods of sickness, etc.
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paragraphs: —(1) For the purpose of calculating under these Regulations the number of contributions paid by or in respect of an insured person, a contribution shall be deemed to have been paid in respect of each complete week comprised in any period during which, under section 3 of the National Insurance (Part I. Amendment) Act, 1917, or under sub-section (3) of section 18 af the Act of 1918, or under sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph (1) of Article 16 of Emergency Powers (No. 381) Order, 1946, no account is to be taken of arrears accruing :
Provided that—
(i) if that period exceeds one or more complete weeks four days or more, such days shall be treated as a week ; and
(ii) if that period commences on a Monday and terminates on the following Saturday, it shall be deemed to comprise a complete week.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of sub-section (3) of section 18 aforesaid—
(a) notice shall be deemed to have been given within the prescribed time in respect of any period for which sickness or disablement benefit has been paid or is payable ; and
(b) in the case of any period in respect of which no benefit has been paid or is payable, the prescribed time for giving notice shall be up to and including the 30th day of November next after the end of the contribution year in which the insured person was incapable of work or such later date as the Minister may in any particular case fix.
5 Benefit year.
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paragraphs: The period within which the reduction or suspension of benefits shall take effect (in these Regulations referred to as the " benefit year ") shall be a period from the first Monday in January in any year to the Sunday immediately before the first Monday in January in the succeeding year, both days inclusive.
6 Contributions of person entering insurance in course of year.
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paragraphs: In the case of a person becoming an insured person after the commencement of a contribution year, contributions shall, for the purpose of ascertaining his position with respect to arrears at the end of the contribution year, be deemed to have been paid in respect of the period between the commencement of the contribution year and the end of the week immediately preceding his entry into insurance.
7 Application to year of 53 weeks.
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paragraphs: In the application of these Regulations to a contribution year comprising 53 weeks every reference in the Regulations or in the Schedules thereto to a number of contributions paid or payable for the contribution year shall be read and have effect as if the number were increased by 1.
8 Reduction of benefits of employed contributors.
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paragraphs: —(1) If the number of contributions paid by or in respect of an employed contributor for any contribution year is more than sixteen, the rate of any sickness benefit payable to him during the succeeding benefit year shall be reduced by the amount appearing in column (2), or (4), as the case may be, in Part I of the First Schedule to these Regulations opposite to the group of numbers in column (1), which comprises the number of contributions paid by or in respect of him for the contribution year, and the rate of any disablement benefit payable during the same period shall be reduced by the amount appearing in column (6) opposite to the said group of numbers :
Provided that if the number of contributions paid is less than 48, he shall be entitled, within the period specified in Regulation 12 of these Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the " period of grace ") to pay to the Society by way of cancelling arrears a sum (in this Regulation referred to as the " appropriate sum ") ascertained in manner hereinafter mentioned or any less sum being 1s. or a multiple of 1s. ; and if the appropriate sum is so paid, the rates of sickness and disablement benefits payable to him shall be the same as if 48 or more contributions had been paid by or in respect of him for the contribution year, or, if any such less sum is so paid, the benefits shall be reduced by the amounts appearing in columns (2), (4) and (6) of the said Part I opposite to the amount in column (7) or (8), as the case may be, which is equal to the difference between the appropriate sum and the amount actually paid.
The appropriate sum in respect of any particular number of contributions paid for a contribution year shall be the sum appearing in column (7) (or, in the case of a woman, column (8)) of the said Part I opposite to the group of numbers which comprises the number of contributions paid for the contribution year.
(2) (i) If the number of contributions paid by or in respect of an employed contributor for a contribution year is more than 16 and less than 26 the amount of maternity benefit payable shall, during the succeeding benefit year, be 20 shillings ;
(ii) if the employed contributor is the husband of a woman who is herself an employed contributor the amount of any maternity benefit which would have been payable in respect of the woman's insurance if the husband's maternity benefit had been suspended on account of arrears shall be reduced by 20 shillings.
(3) If the number of contributions paid by or in respect of an employed contributor for any contribution year is 16 or less he shall be suspended from sickness, disablement and maternity benefits during the succeeding benefit year :
Provided that—
(a) upon payment by him to the Society during the period of grace of the sum of 12s. (or in the case of a woman, 9s.) no suspension or reduction of benefits shall be made ;
(b) upon payment of any such less sum as would reduce the sum of 12s. (or in the case of a woman, 9s.) to one of the amounts appearing in columns (7) or (8) of the said Part I as the case may be, sickness and disablement benefits shall be reduced by the amounts appearing in columns (2), (4) and (6) of Part I aforesaid opposite to the amount in columns (7) or (8) to which the sum of 12s. or 9s. has been so reduced ;
(c) if, on payment of any such less sum, the sum of 12s. (or in the case of a woman, 9s.) is reduced
(i) to 9s. (or in the case of a woman, 7s.) the amount of maternity benefit payable shall be 20 shillings ;
(ii) to 7s. or less (or in the case of a woman, to 5s. or less) maternity benefit shall be payable at the full rate.
(4) The foregoing provisions of this Regulation, so far as they relate to sickness benefit, shall apply to an employed contributor who by reason of the fact that 104 weeks have not elapsed since his entry into insurance and less than 104 contributions have been paid by or in respect of him, is entitled to a lower rate of sickness benefit, with the substitution of the amounts appearing in columns (3) and (5) for those appearing in columns (2) and (4) of the said Part I.
9 Surrender of contribution cards.
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paragraphs: Save as otherwise provided in these Regulations, a contribution shall not be treated as having been paid by or in respect of an employed contributor whose contributions are payable by means of affixing stamps to contribution cards until a contribution card to which a stamp has been duly affixed has been surrendered to the Society but the contributor shall not be entitled to make any payment by way of cancelling arrears, until contribution cards to which stamps have been duly affixed in respect of any period of employment comprised in the relevant contribution year have been surrendered to the Society.
10 Reduction of benefits of voluntary contributors.
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paragraphs: —(1) If the number of contributions paid by a voluntary contributor for any contribution year is more than 33, the rate of any sickness benefit payable to him during the succeeding benefit year shall be reduced by the amount appearing in column (2) or (4) as the case may be, of Part II of the First Schedule to these Regulations, opposite to the group of numbers which comprises the number of contributions paid by him for the contribution year, and the rate of any disablement benefit payable during the same period shall be reduced by the amount appearing in column (6) opposite to the said group of numbers, and if the number of contributions paid is 33 or less, he shall be suspended from sickness, disablement and maternity benefits :
Provided that he shall be entitled to cancel arrears by paying to the Society within the period of grace, any number of contributions required to make up his contributions for the contribution year to at least 39, and if arrears are so paid, sickness and disablement benefits shall be payable at the rate which would have been applicable if the arrears had been paid as contributions for that contribution year.
(2) (i) If the number of contributions paid by a voluntary contributor for a contribution year is more than 33 and less than 39 the amount of maternity benefit payable shall, during the succeeding benefit year, be 20 shillings ;
(ii) if the voluntary contributor is the husband of a woman who is herself an employed contributor the amount of any maternity benefit which would have been payable in respect of the woman's insurance if the husband's maternity benefit had been suspended on account of arrears shall be reduced by 20 shillings.