Social Welfare Act 2021
Acts of the Oireachtas
Source: Acts of the Oireachtas

num: 1
paragraphs: (1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Act 2021.
(2) The Social Welfare Acts and Part 2 shall be construed together as one Act.
(3) Sections 8 , 14 and 20 shall come 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.
(4) Section 24 shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment 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.
num: 2
paragraphs: In this Act—
“Act of 2007” means the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 ;
“Act of 2016” means the Social Welfare Act 2016 ;
“Act of 2018” means the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Act 2018 ;
“Act of 2020” means the Social Welfare Act 2020 ;
“Principal Act” means the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 .
num: 3
paragraphs: (1) Section 13(2) (amended by section 2 of the Act of 2020) of the Principal Act, is amended in paragraph (d) —
(a) in subparagraph (i), by the substitution of “€410” for “€398”, and
(b) in subparagraph (ii), by the substitution of “€410” for “€398”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 1 January 2022.
num: 4
paragraphs: Section 38G (inserted by section 4 of the Act of 2020) is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):
“(1A) Subsection (1) shall cease to have effect on 28 February 2022 and, on and from 1 March 2022, the provisions of section 13(2)(d) shall accordingly apply to the employed contributor’s employer.”.
num: 5
paragraphs: (1) Section 49(1) (amended by section 5 of the Act of 2018) of the Principal Act is amended, in paragraph (b), by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):
“(ii) €250.”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 3 January 2022.
num: 6
paragraphs: (1) Section 60(1) (amended by section 6 of the Act of 2018) of the Principal Act is amended, in paragraph (b), by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):
“(ii) €250.”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 3 January 2022.
num: 7
paragraphs: (1) Section 61D (amended by section 7 of the Act of 2018) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):
“(b) €250.”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 3 January 2022.
num: 8
paragraphs: Section 61G(10) (amended by section 15 of the Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 ) of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in paragraph (b)(i), by the substitution of “seven consecutive weeks” for “five consecutive weeks”,
(b) in paragraph (b)(ii), by the substitution of “seven consecutive weeks” for “five consecutive weeks”, and
(c) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “7 weeks” for “5 weeks”.
num: 9
paragraphs: (1) Section 61I (inserted by section 29 of the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 ) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):
“(b) €250.”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 3 January 2022.
num: 10
paragraphs: (1) Section 65A(1) (amended by section 8(1) of the Act of 2018) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution—
(a) in paragraphs (a), (d) and (g), of “€93.30” for “€91.10” in each place where it occurs in those paragraphs,
(b) in paragraphs (b), (e) and (h), of “€134.20” for “€131.00” in each place where it occurs in those paragraphs, and
(c) in paragraphs (c), (f) and (i), of “€162.90” for “€159.00” in each place where it occurs in those paragraphs.
(2) Section 65A(2) (amended by section 8(2) of the Act of 2018) of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “€73.70” for “€71.70”,
(b) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “€106.00” for “€102.60”, and
(c) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “€128.60” for “€124.00”.
(3) This section comes into operation on 30 December 2021.
num: 11
paragraphs: (1) Section 66(1A) (amended by section 8(3) of the Act of 2018) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of “€89.30” for “€87.20”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 30 December 2021.
num: 12
paragraphs: (1) Section 138(2) (amended by section 11 of the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2009 ) of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “;” for “.”, and
(b) by the insertion of the following after paragraph (c):
“(d) non-surgical hair replacement for persons suffering from hair loss (other than physiological hair loss) resulting from a disease, or treatment for a disease.”.
(2) This section comes into operation on 28 May 2022.
num: 13
paragraphs: (1) Section 211(2)(a) of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in subparagraph (i) by the substitution of “€7.60” for “€2.50”, and
(b) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii):
num: 14
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 228 (amended by section 12 of the Act of 2020):
“Working family payment
num: 228
paragraphs: 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 one child, €551,
(b) in the case of a family which includes 2 children, €652,
(c) in the case of a family which includes 3 children, €753,
(d) in the case of a family which includes 4 children, €844,
(e) in the case of a family which includes 5 children, €970,
(f) in the case of a family which includes 6 children, €1,086,
(g) in the case of a family which includes 7 children, €1,222, or
(h) in the case of a family which includes 8 or more children, €1,318.”.
num: 15
paragraphs: Section 238B(c) (amended by section 6 of the Social Welfare Act 2019 ) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following:
“the person has, immediately before the date on which he or she ceased to claim or ceased to be entitled to the benefit, allowance or payment concerned, in any continuous period of unemployment been in receipt of such benefit, allowance or payment in respect of—
(i) not less than 312 days of unemployment, of which not less than 156 days of unemployment have occurred in the 12 month period commencing immediately before that date, or
(ii) a number of days such that when combined with days spent in receipt of the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment the total shall not be less than 312 days, of which not less than 156 days of unemployment have occurred in the 12 month period commencing immediately before that date.”,
for:
“the person has, immediately before the date on which he or she ceased to claim or ceased to be entitled to the benefit, allowance or payment concerned, in any continuous period of unemployment been in receipt of such benefit, allowance or payment in respect of not less than 312 days of unemployment, of which not less than 156 days of unemployment have occurred in the 12-month period commencing immediately before that date.”.
num: 16
paragraphs: Section 238C (inserted by section 8 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 ) of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (2), by the deletion of “and section 238F”.
num: 17
paragraphs: The Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 305 (amended by section 23 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2010 ):
“305. (1) The Minister shall designate—
(a) one of the appeals officers who is an officer of the Minister to be the Chief Appeals Officer, and
(b) one or more of the other appeals officers (not being an officer designated under paragraph (a) ) who are officers of the Minister to act as the deputies for the Chief Appeals Officer when the Chief Appeals Officer is not available.
(2) An appeals officer who is designated by the Minister under subsection (1) to act as deputy for the Chief Appeals Officer shall, when so acting be referred to as the Deputy Chief Appeals Officer.”.
num: 18
paragraphs: (1) Schedule 2 (amended by section 14 of the Act of 2020) to the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in column (4) of Part 1, by the substitution of “40.00” for “38.00” in each place where it occurs,
(b) in column (5) of Part 1, by the substitution of “48.00” for “45.00” in each place where it occurs,
(c) in column (6) of Part 1, by the substitution of “22.00” for “19.00” in each place where it occurs,
(d) in column (4) of Part 4, by the substitution of “40.00” for “38.00”,
(e) in column (5) of Part 4, by the substitution of “48.00” for “45.00”, and
(f) in column (6) of Part 4, by the substitution of “22.00” for “19.00”.
(2) This section comes into operation—
(a) in so far as it relates to jobseeker’s benefit and jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed), on 30 December 2021,
(b) in so far as it relates to—
(i) illness benefit,
(ii) health and safety benefit, and
(iii) injury benefit,
on 3 January 2022,
(c) in so far as it relates to—
(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 6 January 2022, 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), and
(vi) disablement pension,
on 7 January 2022.
num: 19
paragraphs: (1) Schedule 2 (amended by section 18 of the Act of 2018) 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 (selfâemployed), on 30 December 2021,
(b) in so far as it relates to—
(i) illness benefit,
(ii) health and safety benefit, and
(iii) injury benefit,
on 3 January 2022,
(c) in so far as it relates to—
(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 6 January 2022, 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 7 January 2022.
num: 20
paragraphs: Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in Rule 1(2)(b)(ix) (amended by section 22(a) of the Act of 2016) of Part 2, by the substitution of the following subclauses for subclause (I):
“(I) the following schemes administered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, namely the Schemes commonly known and referred to as:
(A) the Rural Environment Protection Scheme;
(B) the Agri-Environment Options Scheme;
(C) the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme;
(D) the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure;
(E) the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (2015 - 2020) (2017 - 2022) (2021) ;
(F) the Beef Environmental Efficiency Plan (BEEP-S) as part of the Beef Sector Efficiency Programme;
(G) the Dairy Beef Calf Programme as part of the Beef Sector Efficiency Programme;
(H) the Results Based Environment Agri-Pilot Programme;
(I) the Sheep Welfare Scheme;
(J) the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme (2000 - 2006) (2007 - 2013) (2014 - 2020);
(K) the Ash Dieback Replanting Scheme;
(L) the Creation of Woodland on Public Lands Scheme;
(M) the Deer Tree Shelter and Deer/Hare Fencing Scheme;
(N) the Forestry Grants and Premium Schemes (2014 - 2020);
(O) the Forest Genetic Resources Reproductive Material Scheme;
(P) the Forest Road Scheme;
(Q) the Forestry Knowledge Transfer Group Scheme;
(R) the Innovative Forestry Forest Technology: Central tyre inflation scheme module;
(S) the Native Woodland Conservation Scheme;
(T) the NeighbourWood Scheme;
(U) the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (Ash Dieback);
(V) the Woodland Improvement Scheme including Continuous Forestry Cover;
(W) such additional Schemes administered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine relating to agri-environmental schemes as may, following consultation with that Minister, be prescribed.”,
and
(b) in Rule 1(2)(b)(x) (amended by section 22(b) of the Act of 2016) of Part 3, by the substitution of the following subclause for subclause (I):
“(I) the following schemes administered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, namely the Schemes commonly known and referred to as:
(A) the Rural Environment Protection Scheme;
(B) the Agri-Environment Options Scheme;
(C) the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme;
(D) the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure;
(E) the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (2015 - 2020) (2017 - 2022) (2021) ;
(F) the Beef Environmental Efficiency Plan (BEEP-S) as part of the Beef Sector Efficiency Programme;
(G) the Dairy Beef Calf Programme as part of the Beef Sector Efficiency Programme;
(H) the Results Based Environment Agri-Pilot Programme;
(I) the Sheep Welfare Scheme;
(J) the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme (2000 - 2006) (2007 - 2013) (2014 - 2020);
(K) the Ash Dieback Replanting Scheme;
(L) the Creation of Woodland on Public Lands Scheme;
(M) the Deer Tree Shelter and Deer/Hare Fencing Scheme;
(N) the Forestry Grants and Premium Schemes (2014 - 2020);
(O) the Forest Genetic Resources Reproductive Material Scheme;
(P) the Forest Road Scheme;
(Q) the Forestry Knowledge Transfer Group Scheme;
(R) the Innovative Forestry Forest Technology: Central tyre inflation scheme module;
(S) the Native Woodland Conservation Scheme;
(T) the NeighbourWood Scheme;
(U) the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (Ash Dieback);
(V) the Woodland Improvement Scheme including Continuous Forestry Cover;
(W) such additional Schemes administered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine relating to agri-environmental schemes as may, following consultation with that Minister, be prescribed.”.
num: 21
paragraphs: (1) Schedule 3 to the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in Rule 1 of Part 5 (amended by section 35(c) of the Act of 2007) by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (1):
“(1) other than in the circumstances and subject to the conditions and for the periods that may be prescribed, the weekly value of property belonging to the person (not being property personally used or enjoyed by the person or a farm of land leased by him or her) which is invested or is otherwise put to profitable use by the person or which, though capable of investment or profitable use is not invested or put to profitable use and the weekly value, calculated—
num: 22
paragraphs: (1) Part 1 (amended by section 16 of the Act of 2020) of Schedule 4 to the Principal Act is amended—
(a) in column (4), by the substitution of “40.00” for “38.00” in each place where it occurs,
(b) in column (5), by the substitution of “48.00” for “45.00” in each place where it occurs, and
(c) in column (6), by the substitution of “22.00” for “19.00” in each place where it occurs.
(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 29 December 2021,
(b) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on 3 January 2022,
(c) in so far as it relates to disability allowance, on 5 January 2022,
(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, and
(iii) carer’s allowance,
on 6 January 2022, and
(e) in so far as it relates to—
(i) State pension (non-contributory),
(ii) blind pension, and
(iii) one-parent family payment (payable in respect of a widow, widower or surviving civil partner),
on 7 January 2022.
num: 23
paragraphs: (1) Schedule 4 (amended by section 23 of the Act of 2018) 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 29 December 2021,
(b) in so far as it relates to supplementary welfare allowance, on 3 January 2022,
(c) in so far as it relates to disability allowance, on 5 January 2022,
(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 6 January 2022, 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 7 January 2022.
num: 24
paragraphs: Section 4A (inserted by section 5 of the Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Act 2020 ) of the Credit Guarantee Act 2012 is amended, in subsection (2), by the substitution of “31st day of December 2022” for “31st day of December 2021”.