Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 13) (Carers) Regulations, 2000.
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 13) (Carers) Regulations, 2000.
(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations 1994 to 2000 shall be construed together as one and may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations, 1994 to 2000.
Commencement.
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paragraphs: These Regulations shall come into operation on 26 October, 2000.
Definitions.
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paragraphs: In these Regulations “the Principal Regulations” means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 417 of 1994 ).
Carer's benefit.
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paragraphs: Part II of the Principal Regulations is amended by the insertion after Chapter 3 of the following Chapter—
“CHAPTER 3A
Carer's Benefit
Interpretation.
35A. In this Chapter—
‘carer’ means a carer as defined in section 82A;
‘relevant person’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 82A;
‘health insurance contract’ and ‘premium’ have the meaning assigned to them in section 2 of the Health Insurance Act, 1994 (No. 16 of 1994);
‘institution’ means—
(a) a hospital, convalescent home or home for persons suffering from physical or mental disability or accommodation ancillary thereto and any other similar establishment providing residence, maintenance or care for the persons therein, or
(b) a private dwelling wherein a person is boarded out under an arrangement with a health board.
Conditions to be satisfied by non-resident carer.
35B. (1) Subject to sub-article (2) the conditions prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘carer’ contained in section 82A(1) are that—
(a) a direct system of communication must exist between the carer's residence and that of the relevant person, and
(b) the relevant person is not already receiving full-time care and attention within his or her own residence from a person other than the applicant.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) a system of communication shall include a telephone or alarm system.
Prescribed manner for certification of disability.
35C. The prescribed manner for certification by a medical practitioner of the nature and extent of a relevant person's disability shall be in the form for the time being approved by the Minister.
Circumstances in which carer is to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention.
35D. A carer may, for the purposes of Chapter 11A of Part II, continue to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention to a relevant person where that carer:
(a) would qualify for payment of benefit but for the fact that either the carer or the relevant person is undergoing medical or other treatment of a temporary nature in an institution of not longer than 13 weeks, or
(b) the relevant person is attending—
(i) a non-residential course of rehabilitation training provided by an organisation (being an organisation recognised by the Minister for Health and Children for the purposes of the provision of such training) or
(ii) a non-residential place of day care approved by the Minister for Health and Children.
Conditions and circumstances under which a carer may engage in employment or self-employment.
35E. (1) Where it is shown to the satisfaction of a deciding officer or an appeals officer that adequate provision has been made for the care of the relevant person, a carer may engage in either—
(a) employment subject to the conditions in sub-article (2), or
(b) self-employment subject to the conditions in sub-article (3),
but not both.
(2) The conditions for the purposes of paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) are that the hours of employment do not exceed 10 hours per week and that any earnings, calculated in accordance with sub-article (4), derived from that employment do not exceed £75 per week.
(3) The conditions for the purposes of paragraph (b) of sub-article (1) are that the amount of gross income derived from such self-employment, reduced by any expenses necessarily incurred, does not exceed £75 per week.
(4) For the purposes of sub-article (2) the earnings shall be calculated as the gross earnings reduced by the aggregate of—
(a) any allowable contribution referred to in Regulations 59 and 60 (inserted by the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations, 1972 ( S.I. No. 260 of 1972 )) of the Income Tax (Employment) Regulations, 1960 ( S.I. No. 28 of 1960 ),
(b) any income tax payable under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts as defined in section 1 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 (No. 39 of 1997),
(c) any contributions payable under section 10(1)(b) and Regulations made under section 11,
(d) any contributions payable under section 5 (as amended by section 33 of the Social Welfare Act, 1999 (No. 3 of 1999)) of the Health Contributions Act, 1979 (No. 4 of 1979),
(e) any payment to an organisation registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies, under the Trade Union Act 1871 c 31.
(f) any health insurance contract premium.
Respite care grant.
35F. A respite care grant shall be payable to a carer who is entitled to or in receipt of carer's benefit on the first Thursday in June of each year.
Medical examination and disqualification.
35G. (1) An officer of the Minister may, on giving not less than 3 days notice in writing, require a relevant person to submit himself or herself to medical or other examination at such time and place as may be specified in the notice.
(2) Notice of the time and place of the examination referred to in sub-article (1) shall also be sent to the registered medical practitioner in attendance on the person required to submit himself or herself to such examination.
(3) A carer shall be disqualified for receiving carer's benefit if and for so long as the person in respect of whose full-time care and attention the benefit is payable, fails without good cause to attend for or submit to the medical examination in accordance with this article:
Provided that such disqualification shall commence not earlier than the day on which the failure occurs.”.
Amendment of principal regulations.
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paragraphs: (1) The Principal Regulations are amended by—
(a) the substitution for article 9 of the following article:
“9. The Minister shall pay such reasonable and necessary travelling and other expenses, as he may determine, which are incurred by a person who is required to attend for medical or other examination under—
(a) article 15(2),
(b) article 24(1),
(c) article 35G(1),
(d) article 85D(1) or