Number 26 of 2005

SOCIAL WELFARE CONSOLIDATION ACT 2005

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART 1

Preliminary

PART 2

Social Insurance

Chapter 1

Social Insurance Fund

Chapter 2

Employed Contributors and Employment Contributions

Chapter 3

Self-Employed Contributors and Self-Employment Contributions

Chapter 4

Voluntary Contributors and Voluntary Contributions

Chapter 5

Optional Contributors and Optional Contributions

Chapter 6

General

Chapter 7

Description of Benefits

Chapter 8

Disability Benefit

Chapter 9

Maternity Benefit

Chapter 10

Health and Safety Benefit

Chapter 11

Adoptive Benefit

Chapter 12

Unemployment Benefit

Chapter 13

Occupational Injuries Benefits

Chapter 14

Carer’s Benefit

Chapter 15

Old Age (Contributory) Pension

Chapter 16

Retirement Pension

Chapter 17

Invalidity Pension

Chapter 18

Widow’s (Contributory) Pension or Widower’s (Contributory) Pension

Chapter 19

Orphan’s (Contributory) Allowance

Chapter 20

Bereavement Grant

Chapter 21

Widowed Parent Grant

Chapter 22

Treatment Benefit

PART 3

Social Assistance

Chapter 1

Description of Social Assistance

Chapter 2

Unemployment Assistance

Chapter 3

Pre-Retirement Allowance

Chapter 4

Old Age (Non-Contributory) Pension

Chapter 5

Blind Pension

Chapter 6

Widow’s (Non-Contributory) Pension, Widower’s (Non-Contributory) Pension and Orphan’s (Non-Contributory) Pension

Chapter 7

One-Parent Family Payment

Chapter 8

Carer’s Allowance

Chapter 9

Supplementary Welfare Allowance

Chapter 10

Disability Allowance

Chapter 11

Farm Assist

PART 4

Child Benefit

PART 5

Respite Care Grant

PART 6

Family Income Supplement

PART 7

Continued Payment for Qualified Children

PART 8

EU Payments

PART 9

General Provisions Relating to Social Insurance, Social Assistance and Insurability

Preliminary

Chapter 1

Claims and Payments

Chapter 2

Provisions Relating to Entitlement

Chapter 3

Appointment and Duties of Social Welfare Inspectors

Chapter 4

Offences, Miscellaneous Control Provisions and Proceedings

Chapter 5

Alienation of Books and Documents

Chapter 6

Miscellaneous Provisions

PART 10

Decisions, Appeals and Social Welfare Tribunal

Chapter 1

Deciding Officers and Decisions by Deciding Officers

Chapter 2

Appeals Officers, Chief Appeals Officer and Decisions by Appeals Officers

Chapter 3

Supplementary Welfare Allowance — Determinations and Appeals

Chapter 4

General Provisions Relating to Decisions and Appeals

Chapter 5

Social Welfare Tribunal

PART 11

Overpayments, Repayments, Suspension of Payment, etc.

PART 12

Liability to Maintain Family

PART 13

Commencement, Repeals and Continuance

SCHEDULE 1

EMPLOYMENTS, EXCEPTED EMPLOYMENTS AND EXCEPTED SELF-EMPLOYED CONTRIBUTORS

PART 1

Employments

PART 2

Excepted Employments

PART 3

Excepted Self-Employed Contributors

SCHEDULE 2

RATES OF BENEFITS

PART 1

Rates of Periodical Benefits and Increases

PART 2

Occupational Injuries Benefits — Gratuities and Grant

PART 3

Disablement Pension

PART 4

Increases of Disablement Pension

PART 5

Bereavement Grant

SCHEDULE 3

RULES AS TO CALCULATION OF MEANS

PART 1

Definitions

PART 2

Unemployment Assistance, Pre-Retirement Allowance, Disability Allowance and Farm Assist

PART 3

Old Age (Non-Contributory) Pension, Blind Pension, Widow’s (Non-Contributory) Pension, Widower’s (Non-Contributory) Pension and Orphan’s (Non-Contributory) Pension, One-Parent Family Payment and Carer’s Allowance

PART 4

Supplementary Welfare Allowance

SCHEDULE 4

RATES OF ASSISTANCE

PART 1

Rates of Periodical Social Assistance and Increases

PART 2

Increase of Old Age (Non-Contributory) Pension for One of a Couple and Increase in Blind Pension for One of a Couple Where Both Beneficiary and Spouse have attained Pensionable Age

PART 3

Increase of Blind Pension for One of a Couple Where Both Beneficiary and Spouse have not attained Pensionable Age

PART 4

Increase of Blind Pension for One of a Couple Where Beneficiary has not attained Pensionable Age and Spouse has attained Pensionable Age

PART 5

Increase of Blind Pension for One of a Couple Where Beneficiary has attained Pensionable Age and Spouse has not attained Pensionable Age

PART 6

Amounts of Child Benefit

SCHEDULE 5

SPECIFIED BODIES

SCHEDULE 6

COMMENCEMENT OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS

SCHEDULE 7

ENACTMENTS REPEALED

Acts Referred to

Number 26 of 2005

SOCIAL WELFARE CONSOLIDATION ACT 2005

AN ACT TO CONSOLIDATE THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS.

[27th November, 2005]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

PART 1

Preliminary

Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 .

Interpretation.

[1993 s2(1); 2005 (SW&P) s23 & Sch 1]

2.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“Act of 1997” means the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ;

“appeals officer” means a person holding office as an appeals officer under section 304 ;

“assistance” means assistance under Part 3;

“beneficiary” means a person entitled to any benefit, assistance, child benefit or family income supplement, as the case may be;

“benefit” means, subject to section 248 and Part 9, benefit under Part 2;

“benefit year” means the period beginning on the first Monday in a particular year and ending on the Sunday before the first Monday in the following year;

“bureau officer” means an officer of the Minister appointed as a bureau officer under section 8(1)(a)(iii) of the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996 ;

“claimant” means a person who has made a claim for any benefit, assistance, child benefit or family income supplement, as the case may be;

“Collector-General” means the Collector-General appointed under section 851 of the Act of 1997;

“contribution week” means one of the successive periods of 7 consecutive days in a contribution year beginning on the first day of that contribution year, or on any 7th day after that day, the last day of a contribution year (or the last 2 days of a contribution year ending in a leap year) being taken as included in the last contribution week of that contribution year;

“contribution year” means a year of assessment within the meaning of the Income Tax Acts;

“credited contribution” means, in relation to any insured person, a contribution credited to that person by virtue of section 33 ;

“day of incapacity for work” has the meaning given to it by section 40 (1);

“day of unemployment”, in relation to Part 2, has the meaning given to it by section 62 , and in relation to Chapter 2 of Part 3, has the meaning given to it by section 141 (4) or (7);

“deciding officer” means a person holding office as a deciding officer under section 299 ;

“developing country” means any country which the Minister, having regard to the countries so designated by the United Nations, the World Bank or the International Labour Organisation as developing countries and after consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, may determine, for the purposes of this Act, to be a developing country;

“employed contributor” has the meaning given to it by section 12 (1);

“employer’s contribution” has the meaning given to it by section 6 (1)(a);

“employment contribution” has the meaning given to it by section 6 (1)(a);

“entry into insurance” means, subject to sections 35(3) and 125(7) and Chapters 15 and 16 of Part 2, in relation to a person, the date on which the person became an insured person;

“Executive” means the Health Service Executive;

“health board” means—

(a) a health board established under the Health Act 1970 ,

(b) the Eastern Regional Health Authority established under the Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act 1999 , or

(c) an Area Health Board established under the Health (Eastern Regional Health Authority) Act 1999 ;

“incapable of work” means incapable of work by reason of some specific disease or bodily or mental disablement or deemed, in accordance with regulations, to be so incapable;

“infectious diseases maintenance allowance” means a payment under section 44 of the Health Act 1947 to a person suffering from an infectious disease;

“insurable employment” means employment such that a person, over the age of 16 years and under pensionable age, employed in that employment would be an employed contributor;

“insurable (occupational injuries) employment” has the meaning given to it by section 71 ;

“insurable self-employment” means self-employment of such a nature that a person engaged in that employment would be a self-employed contributor;

“insured person” means a person insured under Part 2;

“island” means any island lying off the coast of the State, that is prescribed;

“local authority” has the meaning given to it by the Local Government Act 2001 ;

“Member State” means a Member State of the European Communities;

“Minister” means the Minister for Social and Family Affairs;

“non-governmental agency” means any organisation which has as one of its functions the promotion of relief and development in developing countries through the sponsoring or aiding of projects involving the employment of volunteer development workers in those countries;

“occupational injuries insurance” has the meaning given to it by section 70 (2);

“optional contribution” means a contribution paid under Chapter 5 of Part 2;

“optional contributor” means a person engaged in share fishing paying optional contributions;

“orphan” means a qualified child—

(a) both of whose parents are dead, or

(b) one of whose parents is dead or unknown or has abandoned and failed to provide for the child, as the case may be, and whose other parent—

(i) is unknown, or

(ii) has abandoned and failed to provide for the child,

where that child is not residing with a parent, adoptive parent or step-parent;

“outworker” means a person to whom articles or materials are given out to be made up, cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished or repaired or adapted for sale in the person’s own home or on other premises not under the control or management of the person who gave out the articles or materials for the purposes of the trade or business of the last-mentioned person;

“pensionable age” means the age of 66 years;

“person engaged in share fishing” means a self-employed contributor who is a member of the crew of a fishing vessel and whose principal means of livelihood is derived from a share in the profits or the gross earnings of the working of the vessel;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations;

“qualifying contribution” means the appropriate employment contribution or self-employment contribution which was paid or would have been paid but for section 13 (2)(c) in respect of any insured person or the appropriate optional contribution which was paid or would have been paid but for section 29 (1)(b);

“record” means any book, document or any other written or printed material in any form including any information stored, maintained or preserved by means of any mechanical or electronic device, whether or not stored, maintained or preserved in a legible form;

“reckonable earnings” means, subject to regulations, earnings derived from insurable employment or insurable (occupational injuries) employment;

“reckonable emoluments”, in relation to a self-employed contributor, means emoluments (other than reckonable earnings and any other emoluments that may be prescribed) to which Chapter 4 of Part 42 of the Act of 1997 applies, reduced by so much of the allowable contribution referred to in Regulations 41 and 42 of the Income Tax (Employments) (Consolidated) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 559 of 2001 ) as is deducted on payment of those emoluments;

“reckonable income”, in relation to a self-employed contributor or an optional contributor, means the aggregate income (excluding reckonable earnings, reckonable emoluments and any other income that may be prescribed) from all sources for the contribution year as estimated in accordance with the Income Tax Acts, but without regard to—

(a) sections 195, 231 and 232 of the Act of 1997, or

(b) save in the case of a person to whom paragraph 1 of Part 3 of Schedule 1 applies, Chapter 1 of Part 44 of the Act of 1997, after deducting from the income so much of any deduction allowed by virtue of the provisions of the definition of “capital allowance” in section 2(1) of the Act of 1997;

“regulations” means regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“Regulations of 1996” means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) Regulations 1996 ( S.I. No. 312 of 1996 );

“self-employed contributor” has the meaning given to it by section 20 ;

“self-employment contribution” has the meaning given to it by section 6 ;

“short-time employment” means employment in which, for the time being, a number of days is systematically worked in a working week which is less than the number of days which is normal in a working week in the employment concerned;

“Social Insurance Fund” means the Fund to which section 9 relates;

“social welfare inspector” means a person appointed by the Minister under section 250 to be a social welfare inspector for the purposes of Parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12;

“statutory declaration” means a statutory declaration within the meaning of the Statutory Declarations Act 1938 ;

“trade dispute” means any dispute between employers and employees, or between employees and employees, which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or the conditions of employment of any persons, whether employees in the employment of the employer with whom the dispute arises or not;

“voluntary contribution” has the meaning given to it by section 25 ;

“voluntary contributor” has the meaning given to it by section 24 ;

“volunteer development worker” means a person who is employed temporarily outside the State in a developing country and has secured that employment—

(a) by or through the Department of Foreign Affairs or by or through a non-governmental agency in the State, or

(b) by or through a governmental or non-governmental agency in any Member State other than the State, or

(c) directly with the government of a developing country, and who is employed by any of those agencies or by the government of the developing country or by both under conditions of remuneration similar to local conditions applying in that country and who was resident in the State immediately before taking up that employment;

“Workmen’s Compensation Acts” means the Workmen’s Compensation Acts 1934 to 1955 and the enactments repealed by the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1934.

(2) In this Act “qualified adult”, subject to sections 134, 187 and 297, means in relation to a person—

(a) a spouse who is wholly or mainly maintained by that person but does not include—

(i) a spouse in employment (other than employment specified in paragraph 4 or 5 of Part 2 of Schedule 1), or

(ii) a spouse who is self-employed, or

(iii) a spouse who is entitled to or is in receipt of any benefit, pension, assistance or allowance (other than supplementary welfare allowance) under Part 2 or 3, or

(iv) a spouse who, by virtue of section 68 (1) or 147(2), is or would be disqualified for receiving unemployment benefit payable under Chapter 12 of Part 2 or unemployment assistance payable under Chapter 2 of Part 3 in his or her own right with the exception of a spouse who qualifies as a qualified adult by virtue of regulations made under paragraph (c), or

(v) a spouse who is entitled to or is in receipt of an allowance the rate of which is related to the rates of unemployment assistance payable under section 142 or unemployment benefit payable under section 65 or 66, in respect of a non-craft full-time course approved by An Foras Áiseanna Saothair under the Industrial Training Act 1967 , or

(vi) a spouse who is entitled to or in receipt of an allowance the rate of which is related to the rates of unemployment assistance payable under section 142 or unemployment benefit payable under section 65 or 66, in respect of participation in a scheme administered by the Minister for Education and Science and known as the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme, or

(vii) a spouse who is entitled to or in receipt of an allowance the rate of which is related to the rates of unemployment assistance payable under section 142 or unemployment benefit payable under section 65 or 66, in respect of participation in a scheme administered by the Minister and known as—

(I) Back to Education Allowance, or

(II) Back to Work Allowance, or

(III) Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, or

(IV) Part-Time Job Incentive,

or

(b) a person over the age of 16 years being wholly or mainly maintained by that person and having the care of one or more than one qualified child who normally resides with that person where that person is—

(i) a single person,

(ii) a widow,

(iii) a widower, or

(iv) a married person who is not living with and is neither wholly or mainly maintaining, nor being wholly or mainly maintained by, the married person’s spouse,

or

(c) any person whom the Minister may by regulations specify to be a qualified adult for the purposes of this Act.

(3) Subject to section 134 (3), in this Act “qualified child” means a person who is ordinarily resident in the State, is not detained in a reformatory or an industrial school, and—

(a) for the purposes of—

(i) section 43 (2), in the case of an applicant for disability benefit other than as referred to in paragraph (b),

(ii) section 56 (2), in the case of an applicant for health and safety benefit other than as referred to in paragraph (b),

(iii) section 66 (2), in the case of an applicant for unemployment benefit other than as referred to in paragraph (b),

(iv) section 76 (2), in the case of an applicant for injury benefit other than as referred to in paragraph (b), and

(v) section 142 (1)(b)(ii), in the case of an applicant for unemployment assistance other than as referred to in paragraph (b),

is under the age of 18 years or is of or over the age of 18 years and is regarded as attending a course of study referred to in section 148 (3)(a), and

(b) for the purposes of—

(i) sections 81(5), 83(1), 102(1), 112(2), 117(2), 122(2), 127(1), 130, 137, 150(1)(b), 156(1), 168(1), 174(1), 181(1), 211(1)(b), 215(1)(b) and 228,

(ii) section 43 (2), in the case of an applicant who, in respect of any period of interruption of employment has been entitled to or is in receipt of disability benefit for not less than 156 days or, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed, has been entitled to or has been in receipt of disability benefit and a relevant payment for not less than 156 days,

(iii) section 56 (2), in the case of an applicant who, in respect of a period of health and safety leave under the Maternity Protection Act 1994, has been entitled to or is in receipt of health and safety benefit for not less than 156 days or, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed, has been entitled to or has been in receipt of health and safety benefit and a relevant payment for not less than 156 days,

(iv) section 66 (2) or 142(1)(b)(ii), in the case of an applicant who, in any continuous period of unemployment as read in accordance with section 141 (3), has been entitled to or is in receipt of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance for not less than 156 days, or, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed, has been entitled to or has been in receipt of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance and a relevant payment for not less than 156 days, and

(v) section 76 (2), as it applies to disablement pension or in the case of an applicant who, in respect of any period of interruption of employment, has been entitled to or is in receipt of injury benefit and a relevant payment for not less than 156 days, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed,

and satisfies one of the following conditions—

(I) is under the age of 18 years, or

(II) is of or over the age of 18 years and under the age of 22 years and is receiving full-time education, the circumstances of which shall be specified in regulations, or

(III) is of or over the age of 18 years and is regarded as attending a course of study referred to in section 148 (3)(a).

(4) In subsection (3) “relevant payment” means any benefit specified in section 39 (1) (other than old age (contributory) pension) or any assistance specified in section 139 (1) (other than old age (non-contributory) pension).

(5) (a) Notwithstanding subsection (3)(b)(v)(II), a person receiving full-time education, in accordance with that provision, who attains the age of 22 years during an academic year shall continue to be regarded as a qualified child for the purposes of that provision, while receiving full-time education for the duration of that academic year.

(b) In this subsection “academic year” has the meaning given to it by section 148 (2).

(6) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) and notwithstanding subsection (3)(a), a person who attains the age of 18 years while attending a full-time day course of study, instruction or training at an institution of education, shall continue to be regarded as a qualified child for the purposes of that subsection until the following 30 June or until the person completes the full-time day course, whichever is the earlier.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a), the Minister may prescribe the conditions subject to which a person shall be regarded as attending a full-time day course of study, instruction or training at an institution of education.

(c) In this subsection, “institution of education” has the meaning given to it by section 148 (2).

(7) Subject to Part 12, “liable relative” means in relation to any person—

(a) a man who is liable to maintain—

(i) his wife,

(ii) his former wife where the marriage has been dissolved, being a dissolution that is recognised as valid in the State,

while she is in receipt of an allowance or benefit, and

(iii) any qualified child of his in respect of whom an increase in allowance or benefit is payable to the mother,

or

(b) a woman who is liable to maintain—

(i) her husband,

(ii) her former husband where the marriage has been dissolved, being a dissolution that is recognised as valid in the State,

while he is in receipt of an allowance, and

(iii) any qualified child of hers in respect of whom an increase in allowance is payable to the father.

Interpretation generally.

[1993 s3(1); 1995 (No. 2) s10(3)]

3.—(1) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) a person is deemed to be over any age mentioned in this Act where the person has attained that age and is deemed to be under any age mentioned in this Act where the person has not attained that age;

(b) a person is deemed to be between 2 ages mentioned in this Act where the person has attained the first-mentioned age but has not attained the second-mentioned age;

(c) a person is deemed not to have attained the age of 16 years until the beginning of the 16th anniversary of the day of the person’s birth, and similarly with respect to any other age;

(d) regulations may provide that, for the purpose of determining whether a contribution is payable in respect of a person, or at what rate a contribution is payable, the person shall be treated as having attained at the beginning of a contribution week, or as not having attained until the end of a contribution week, any age which that person attains during the course of that week;

(e) the circumstances in which a person is to be regarded as living alone shall be specified in regulations;

(f) regulations shall provide for determining the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be regarded to be wholly or mainly maintaining another person.

(2) Any reference in this Act to contributions, where the reference is without qualification, shall be read, save where the context otherwise requires, as including a reference to employment contributions, self-employment contributions and voluntary contributions.

(3) Regulations may, in relation to any class or description of insurable employment or insurable (occupational injuries) employment, specify the persons to be treated for the purposes of this Act as the employers of employed contributors employed in that employment.

(4) References in this Act to an employed contributor's employer shall not be read as including his or her employer in any employment other than insurable employment or insurable (occupational injuries) employment.

(5) Any question relating to the normal residence of a qualified child shall, subject to section 220 (2), be decided in accordance with regulations made under that subsection.

(6) Where a child has been or becomes adopted under the Adoption Acts 1952 to 1998, then for the purposes of this Act—

(a) the child shall after the adoption be treated as if he or she were the child of the adopter or adopters born to that adopter or adopters and were not the child of any other person and, where the child was an orphan immediately before the adoption, as having ceased to be an orphan, and

(b) where there is one adopter only, in any application after the adoption with respect to the child of the definition of “orphan” contained in section 2 (1), “the parent of whom is dead” is substituted in paragraph (a) of that definition for “both of whose parents are dead”.

(7) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a Part, Chapter, section or Schedule is to a Part, Chapter or section of or Schedule to this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection, paragraph, subparagraph or clause is to the subsection, paragraph, subparagraph or clause of the provision (including a Schedule) in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended, and

(c) a reference to any other enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any subsequent enactment.

(8) References in any other enactment to the “Social Welfare Acts” means this Act and every enactment which is to be read together with it as one.

(9) In this Act, any reference to this Act shall be read as including a reference to regulations made under or applying the provisions of this Act.

(10) For the purposes of sections 43(3), 66(3), 76(3), 112(3), 117(3), 122(3), 134, 141(2)(d), 146, 149(2), 150(3), 158, 181(4), 210(2), 211(3), 216, 219(2), 297 and 298 and Chapter 9 of Part 3, “spouse” means—

(a) each person of a married couple who are living together, or

(b) a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as husband and wife.

(11) For the purposes of determining the entitlement of a person to an increase in respect of a qualified adult, references to a spouse in the definition of “qualified adult” contained in section 2 (2) and regulations made under that provision shall be read as including:

(a) a party to a marriage that has been dissolved, being a dissolution that is recognised as valid in the State, or

(b) a man and woman who are not married to each other but are cohabiting as husband and wife.

Regulations.

[1993 s4(1)]

4.—(1) The Minister may make regulations—

(a) for any purpose in relation to which regulations are provided for by any of the provisions of this Act, and

(b) for prescribing any matter or thing referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(2) Except in so far as this Act otherwise provides, any power conferred by this Act to make regulations may be exercised—

(a) either in relation to all cases to which the power extends, or in relation to all those cases subject to specified exceptions, or in relation to any specified cases or classes of case, and

(b) so as to make, as regards the cases in relation to which it is exercised—

(i) the full provision to which the power extends or any less provision (whether by exception or otherwise),

(ii) the same provision for all cases in relation to which the power is exercised or different provision for different cases or classes of case, or different provision in relation to the same case or class of case for different purposes of this Act,

(iii) any such provision either unconditionally or subject to any specified condition.

(3) Without prejudice to any specific provision in this Act, regulations may contain any incidental or supplementary provisions that may appear to the Minister to be expedient for the purposes of the regulations.

(4) The following are subject to the sanction of the Minister for Finance:

(a) regulations for the purposes of sections 2(2), 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20(2)(d), 22, 23, 25(1)(d), 41(4), 41(7), 49, 60, 62(3), 62(5), 62(7), 64(6), 70(3), 71(7), 71(8), 71(9), 99(3), 108(6), 108(7), 109(8), 109(11), 109(14), 109(16), 114(6), 114(7), 115(4), 115(5), 115(7), 119(1), 119(2), 120, 125(3), 125(5), 135(2), 135(3), 141(1), 142(5), 151, 173(4), 179(1), 186(2)(b), 198, 232(2), 232(3), 233, 241(7), 289, 292, 297, 342 and 363 and, in Schedule 3, Rule 1(2)(b)(iv)(I), (6) and (7) of Part 2, Rule 2(3) of Part 3 and Rule 2 of Part 4 and Reference 14 and 19 in Table 2;

(b) a draft of regulations under any of the provisions mentioned in subsection (5).

(5) Where regulations are proposed to be made for the purposes of section 12 (2), 12(3), 13(3)(a), 20(2)(a), 20(2)(b), 20(2)(c), 32, 41(6), 58(3), 64(5), 101(2), 109(7), 115(3), 119(6), 125(2), 131(2), 135(2), 262(3), 263(1) or 264(1), or, in Schedule 3, Rule 4(a) of Part 2, Rule 7 of Part 3 or Rule 2(a) of Part 4, or Schedule 5, a draft of those regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

(6) Regulations or rules (not being regulations of which a draft is required by this Act to be approved of by resolution of each House of the Oireachtas) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after they are made and, if a resolution annulling the regulations or rules is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulations or rules have been laid before it, the regulations or rules shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under those regulations or rules.

(7) Where the Minister revokes regulations made under any of the provisions mentioned in subsection (5) and makes regulations which he or she certifies to be substantially to the like effect as the regulations so revoked, a requirement that a draft of the proposed regulations be laid before each House of the Oireachtas shall not apply.

Expenses.

[1993 s5(1)]

5.—(1) Any expenses incurred by the Minister or any other Minister in carrying this Act into effect shall, to the extent that may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) There shall be paid to the Minister for Finance out of the Social Insurance Fund, at the times and in the manner the Minister for Finance may direct, any sums that the Minister may estimate, on the basis that may be agreed on between the Minister and the Minister for Finance, to be the part of those expenses of the Minister or any other Minister which relates to the scheme of social insurance provided for in Part 2 and any sums so paid shall be appropriated in aid of moneys provided by the Oireachtas for carrying this Act into effect.

(3) In estimating expenses for the purposes of subsection (2), there shall be included an amount that, in the opinion of the Minister for Finance, represents the amount of the accruing liability in respect of any superannuation or other retiring allowances, lump sums or gratuities accruing in respect of the employment of any officer or other person for the purposes of this Act.

(4) Any expenses incurred by An Post under Part 2 (determined on the basis that may be agreed on between the Minister, the Minister for Finance and An Post) shall be paid by the Minister out of the Social Insurance Fund to An Post at the times and in the manner the Minister for Finance may direct.

(5) Any fees in respect of an audit of the Social Insurance Fund which are payable to the Comptroller and Auditor General in accordance with section 12 of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 shall be paid by the Minister out of that Fund.

(6) There shall be paid to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment out of the Social Insurance Fund, at the times and in the manner the Minister for Finance may direct, the sums that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment may estimate, on the basis that may be agreed on between the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Minister and the Minister for Finance, to be part of the expenses incurred in carrying into effect—

(a) the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Acts 1984 to 2004, and

(b) the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2003,

and any sums so paid shall be appropriated in aid of moneys provided by the Oireachtas for carrying into effect the Acts referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b).

PART 2

Social Insurance

Chapter 1

Social Insurance Fund

Sources of moneys for benefits.

[1993 s6(1); National Training Fund Act 2000 s4(10)]

6.—(1) For the purposes of providing moneys for meeting the expenditure on benefit and making any other payments which, under this Act (other than section 8 ), the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2003 and the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Acts 1984 to 2004, are to be made out of the Social Insurance Fund, there shall be—

(a) contributions (referred to in this Act as “employment contributions”) in respect of employed contributors, each of which shall comprise a contribution by the employed contributor and a contribution (referred to in this Act as “the employer’s contribution”) by the employer of the employed contributor,

(b) contributions (referred to in this Act as “self-employment contributions”) in respect of self-employed contributors,

(c) contributions in respect of optional contributors,

(d) contributions in respect of voluntary contributors, and

(e) payments out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) Employment contributions, self-employment contributions, optional contributions and voluntary contributions shall be paid into the Social Insurance Fund.

Social Insurance Fund — expenditure on benefit.

[2000 s29(a)]

7.—(1) Benefit shall be paid or provided for out of the Social Insurance Fund.

(2) A reference to benefit in section 6 and this section includes:

(a) the benefits described in section 39 ,

(b) a relevant payment within the meaning of section 178 (1)(a),

(c) schemes administered by the Minister and known as—

(i) Free Fuel Allowance,

(ii) Free Electricity Allowance,

(iii) Free Television Licence,

(iv) Free Telephone Rental Allowance,

(v) Free Natural Gas Allowance, and

(vi) Free Bottled Gas Allowance,

where those allowances are payable in respect of a person in receipt of a benefit under section 39 (1) or a relevant payment within the meaning of section 178 (1)(a),

(d) a payment under regulations made under section 138 in respect of dental treatment or optical treatment and appliances which would have been payable in respect of a person but for the fact that the person availed of a service in respect of dental treatment or optical treatment and appliances under sections 45 and 67 of the Health Act 1970 ,

(e) any benefit to which section 39 (1) refers which would have been payable in respect of a person but for the receipt by that person of old age (non-contributory) pension,

(f) any increase in any benefit to which section 39 (1) refers which would have been payable in respect of a person, but for the receipt by that person of an old age (non-contributory) pension in his or her own right, and

(g) unemployment benefit which would have been payable in respect of a person but for the receipt by that person of unemployment assistance.

(3) Benefit to be paid or provided for out of the Social Insurance Fund shall include such sums as the Minister may estimate on the basis that may be agreed on between the Minister and the Minister for Finance in respect of the benefits set out in subsection (2)(c), (d), (e), (f) and (g).

(4) There shall be paid out of the Social Insurance Fund—

(a) to the Minister for Health and Children the sum agreed between the Minister and the Minister for Finance in respect of the benefit set out in subsection (2)(d), and

(b) to the Exchequer in respect of the sums agreed between the Minister and the Minister for Finance in respect of the benefits set out in subsection (2)(c), (e), (f) and (g),

in the manner and at the times the Minister may determine.

Social Insurance Fund — payments to National Training Fund.

[National Training Fund Act 2000 s5(5)]

8.—The Minister shall make payments out of the Social Insurance Fund into the National Training Fund equalling those paid into the first-mentioned fund pursuant to section 5(3) and (4) of the National Training Fund Act 2000 .

Social Insurance Fund.

[1993 s7(1)]

9.—(1) The Social Insurance Fund (in this section and in section 11 referred to as “the Fund”), established under section 7 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 , shall continue in being and to comprise a current account and an investment account.

(2) The Minister shall manage and control the current account of the Fund.

(3) The Minister for Finance shall manage and control the investment account of the Fund.

(4) Save where otherwise specifically provided—

(a) sums payable into the Fund shall be paid into either the current account of the Fund or the investment account of the Fund, and

(b) sums payable out of the Fund shall be paid out of the current account of the Fund.

(5) Moneys standing to the credit of the current account of the Fund and not required to meet current expenditure shall be transferred to the investment account of the Fund.

(6) Whenever the moneys in the current account of the Fund are insufficient to meet the liabilities of that account, there shall be paid into that account from the investment account of the Fund the moneys necessary to meet those liabilities.

(7) Subject to subsection (6), moneys standing to the credit of the investment account of the Fund shall be invested by the Minister for Finance and income arising from any such investment shall be paid into that account.

(8) An investment under subsection (7) may be—

(a) in securities in which trustees are for the time being by law empowered to invest trust funds, or

(b) in any of the stocks, funds and securities which are for the time being authorised by law as investments for Post Office Savings Bank Funds.

(9) (a) The amount by which the income of the Fund for any financial year is less than its expenditure shall be paid into the Fund out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(b) The income and expenditure of the Fund for a financial year shall be determined for the purposes of this subsection by the Minister on the basis that may be agreed on between the Minister and the Minister for Finance.

(10) Any sum payable into the Fund under subsection (9)(a) shall be paid in the manner and at the times as the Minister for Finance may determine.

(11) Accounts of the Fund shall be prepared in the form and manner and at the times the Minister for Finance may direct and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine and certify every account and a copy of every account, together with the report thereon of the Comptroller and Auditor General, shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

Actuarial review.

[1998 s17]

10.—(1) The Minister shall cause—

(a) actuarial reviews to be made of the financial condition of the Social Insurance Fund by the persons the Minister may decide for the purpose of determining the extent to which the Fund may be expected, in the longer term, to meet the demands in respect of payment of benefits and other payments, having regard, in particular, to the adequacy or otherwise of the contributions to support benefits and other payments and any other matters the Minister considers to be relevant as affecting the current and future financial condition of the Fund,

(b) a report to be made to the Minister on completion of any such review, and

(c) a copy of every report under this section to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas within 6 months of the completion of the review.

(2) The date of completion of the first actuarial review under this section shall be a date not later than 31 December 2002, and the date of completion of each subsequent review shall be a date not later than 5 years after the date of completion of the immediately preceding review.

Payments from Fund for acquisition of land, etc.

[1993 s8(1)]

11.—(1) Payments may be made out of the Fund in respect of expenditure by the Minister on the acquisition of lands, premises, furniture or equipment or the construction or reconstruction of premises, and any such lands, premises, furniture or equipment shall be held by the Minister on behalf of the Fund.

(2) A payment shall not be made under subsection (1) save with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(3) The Minister may dispose of any lands, premises, furniture or equipment which he or she has acquired, constructed or reconstructed under this section and any moneys which the Minister receives in respect of any such disposal shall be paid into the Fund.

(4) A disposal shall not be effected under subsection (3) save with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

Chapter 2

Employed Contributors and Employment Contributions

Employed contributors and insured persons.

[1993 s9(1)]

12.—(1) Subject to this Act—

(a) subject to paragraph (b), every person who, being over the age of 16 years and under pensionable age, is employed in any of the employments specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1, not being an employment specified in Part 2 of that Schedule, shall be an employed contributor for the purposes of this Act, and

(b) every person, irrespective of age, who is employed in insurable (occupational injuries) employment shall be an employed contributor and references in this Act to an employed contributor shall be read accordingly, and

(c) every person becoming for the first time an employed contributor shall thereby become insured under this Act and shall thereafter continue throughout his or her life to be so insured.

(2) Regulations may provide for including among employed contributors persons employed in any of the employments specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1.

(3) Regulations may provide for—

(a) excluding particular employments or any classes of employment from the employments specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1, or

(b) adding to the employments so specified particular employments or any classes of employment,

and, where the Minister considers that any modifications of this Act are appropriate having regard to the purpose for which the regulations are made, the regulations may make those modifications.

(4) For the purposes of this Part, with regard to employment specified in paragraph (13) of Part 1 of Schedule 1, the person who is liable to pay the wages or salary of the individual concerned in respect of the work or service concerned is deemed to be the individual’s employer.

Employment contributions.

[1993 s10(1)(a)]

13.—(1) Employment contributions shall be paid by employed contributors and their employers in accordance with this section.

(2) (a) Where in any contribution week a payment of not more than €287 per week (or the equivalent thereof in respect of an employed contributor remunerated otherwise than on a weekly basis) is made to or for the benefit of an employed contributor in respect of reckonable earnings of that contributor relating to an employment, a contribution shall not be payable by that employed contributor in respect of those earnings from that employment.

(b) Subject to paragraph (c) and to regulations under section 14 , where in any contribution week a payment of more than €287 is made to or for the benefit of an employed contributor in respect of reckonable earnings of that employed contributor, there shall be payable a contribution by the employed contributor at the rate of 4 per cent of the amount of reckonable earnings in excess of €127 in that week in respect of each employment (or the equivalent thereof in the case of an employed contributor remunerated otherwise than on a weekly basis) to which that payment relates.

(c) Where in a particular contribution year an employed contributor’s reckonable earnings have amounted to the sum of €44,180 and the contributions payable 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 by the employed contributor in that contribution year.

(d) Subject to subsection (8) and to regulations under section 14 , where in any contribution week a payment is made to or for the benefit of an employed contributor in respect of reckonable earnings of that employed contributor, there shall be payable a contribution by the employed contributor’s employer—

(i) at the rate of 7.8 per cent of the amount of the reckonable earnings in that week to which that payment relates where those reckonable earnings do not exceed €356 (or the equivalent thereof in the case of an employed contributor remunerated otherwise than on a weekly basis), and

(ii) at the rate of 10.05 per cent of the amount of the reckonable earnings in that week to which that payment relates where those reckonable earnings exceed €356 (or the equivalent thereof in the case of an employed contributor remunerated otherwise than on a weekly basis).

(e) For the purposes of this Chapter—

“payment” includes a notional payment;

“notional payment” has the meaning given to it by section 985A (inserted by section 6 of the Finance Act 2003 ) of the Act of 1997.

(3) (a) The Minister may by regulations vary the sums specified in subsection (2)(c) and any variation has effect from the beginning of the contribution year following that in which the regulations are made.

(b) When making regulations under this subsection to vary the sum specified in subsection (2)(c) the Minister shall take into account any changes in the average earnings of workers in the transportable goods industries so recorded by the Central Statistics Office since the date by reference to which the sum specified in subsection (2)(c) was last determined.

(4) The employer shall, in relation to any employment contribution, be liable in the first instance to pay both the employer’s contribution comprised therein and also, on behalf of and to the exclusion of the employed contributor, the contribution comprised therein payable by the contributor.

(5) An employer shall be entitled, subject to and in accordance with regulations, to recover from an employed contributor the amount of any contribution paid or to be paid by the employer on behalf of that contributor and, notwithstanding anything in any enactment, regulations for the purposes of this subsection may authorise recovery by deductions from the employed contributor’s remuneration, but those regulations shall provide that—

(a) where the employed contributor does not receive any pecuniary remuneration either from the employer or from any other person, the employer shall not be entitled to recover the amount of any such contribution from that contributor, and

(b) where the employed contributor receives any pecuniary remuneration from the employer, the employer shall not be entitled to recover any such contribution otherwise than by deductions.

(6) Notwithstanding any contract to the contrary, an employer shall not be entitled to deduct from the remuneration of a person employed by the employer, or otherwise to recover from the person, the employer’s contribution in respect of that person.

(7) Any sum deducted by an employer from remuneration under regulations for the purposes of this section is deemed to have been entrusted to the employer for the purpose of paying the contribution in respect of which it was deducted.

(8) In the case of employment specified in paragraph 12 of Part 1 of Schedule 1, subsection (2)(d) shall be read as if “0.5 per cent” were substituted for “7.8 per cent” and “10.05 per cent”.

(9) Regulations may, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed, exempt an employer who employs an employee under and by virtue of a scheme administered by the Department of Social and Family Affairs, known as the Employers’ Pay-Related Social Insurance Exemption Scheme, from the liability to pay the contribution specified in section 13 (2)(d) in respect of that employee.

(10) Where, for a year of assessment (within the meaning of the Tax Acts), the Revenue Commissioners and an employer enter into an agreement under a specified provision of the Act of 1997 whereby the employer will account to the Revenue Commissioners, in accordance with that provision, in respect of the income tax due on qualifying emoluments (within the meaning of that provision) and where that agreement is not null and void, then in respect of those qualifying emoluments—

(a) the employer—

(i) as part of that agreement and in so far as the qualifying emoluments are comprised of reckonable earnings of an employed contributor to which the agreement applies, shall pay a contribution at a rate of 14.05 per cent in respect of the aggregate of the amount of those reckonable earnings and the amount of income tax payable under the agreement in respect of them, and

(ii) notwithstanding section 13 (4) or Article 7 of the Regulations of 1996, shall not be entitled to recover from an employed contributor any part of a contribution paid in accordance with subparagraph (i),

and

(b) a contribution paid in accordance with paragraph (a)(i) shall not be regarded as an employment contribution for the purposes of any benefit specified in section 39 (1).

(11) In subsection (10) “specified provision” means any provision that may be prescribed for the purposes of that subsection.

Modified insurance.

[1993 s11(1); 2005 (SW&P) s26 & Sch 4]

14.—(1) Regulations may modify this Part in its application in the case of—

(a) persons employed in any of the employments specified in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10 of Part 1 of Schedule 1, or

(b) in the cases that may be prescribed, persons employed in eircom plc, or

(c) in such cases as may be prescribed, persons who, on 5 April 1995 were employed in an employment to which paragraph (a) or (b) applies and which is prescribed, and who cease to be so employed, but immediately on such cessation become employed in another employment which is prescribed, under terms and conditions which provide that the person continues to be employed in a permanent and pensionable capacity and for payment during illness on a basis considered adequate by the Minister, or

(d) persons employed in a statutory transport undertaking, or

(e) persons employed as teachers in primary schools which are recognised schools within the meaning of the Education Act 1998 , or

(f) persons employed as teachers in training colleges recognised by the Minister for Education and Science for teachers in primary schools, or

(g) persons employed as teachers in post-primary schools which are recognised schools within the meaning of the Education Act 1998 , or

(h) persons employed as teachers in domestic science training colleges funded by moneys voted by the Oireachtas for that purpose, or

(i) persons employed as members of the Army Nursing Service, or

(j) persons employed in voluntary hospitals to which grants are paid from moneys provided by the Oireachtas in recoupment of revenue deficits, or

(k) persons employed by voluntary organisations which are providing district nursing services, or

(l) persons employed in an employment which is an insurable (occupational injuries) employment under section 71 .

(2) This section is without prejudice to the generality of any other provision of this Part providing for regulations.

Calculation of reckonable earnings.

[1993 s12(1)]

15.—(1) For the purposes of this Part, reckonable earnings may be calculated or estimated, either for a person or a class of persons, in the manner, by reference to the matters and on the basis that may be prescribed.

(2) Regulations may provide for the calculation of the amounts payable in respect of employment contributions in accordance with prescribed scales, and for adjustments of those amounts to facilitate computation and to avoid fractions of 1 cent in the amounts.

Employment by more than one employer.

[1993 s13; 2001 s8(3)]

16.—Regulations may provide for the determination of liability for the payment of employment contributions in the case of a person who works under the general control or management of a person who is not his or her immediate employer.

Payment of contributions and keeping of records.

[1993 s14(1)]

17.—(1) Regulations may provide for—

(a) the time and manner of payment of employment contributions,

(b) the collection and the recovery of, and the furnishing of returns by employers in relation to, employment contributions,

(c) the charging of interest on arrears of employment contributions,

(d) the waiving of interest due on arrears of employment contributions,

(e) the estimation of amounts due in respect of employment contributions and appeals in relation to those estimates,

(f) the furnishing of returns by employers in relation to periods of insurable employment,

(g) the deduction by an employer from the reckonable earnings of an employed contributor of any employment contribution reasonably believed by the employer to be due by the contributor, and adjustment in any case of over-deduction, and

(h) any matter ancillary or incidental to any of the matters referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (g).

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under that subsection may provide for—

(a) the assignment of any function relating to any matter referred to in that subsection to the Collector-General or to any person engaged under contract by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, for this purpose,

(b) the assignment to the Collector-General of any function conferred on the Minister by section 272 and the modification for that purpose of any provision of that section,

(c) the inspection by or on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners of records prescribed under subsection (5),

(d) treating, for the purpose of any right to benefit, contributions paid after the due dates as paid on those dates or on any later dates that may be prescribed, or as not having been paid, and

(e) treating as paid, for the purpose of any right to benefit, employment contributions payable by an employer in respect of an insured person which have not been paid, where the failure to pay those contributions is shown not to have been with the consent or connivance of the insured person or attributable to any negligence on the part of the insured person.

(3) Nothing in any regulations under this section affects the liability of the employer under section 13 (4) to pay employment contributions.

(4) The provisions of any enactment, regulation or rule of court relating to—

(a) the inspection of records, the estimation, collection and recovery (including the provisions relating to the offset of taxes and appropriation of payments in Chapter 5 of Part 42 of the Act of 1997) of, or the furnishing of returns by employers in relation to, income tax, or

(b) appeals in relation to income tax, or

(c) the publication of names of persons under section 1086 of the Act of 1997,

shall apply in relation to employment contributions which the Collector-General is obliged to collect as if the contributions were an amount of income tax which the employer was liable to remit to the Collector-General under the Income Tax (Employments) (Consolidated) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 559 of 2001 ).

(5) For the purposes of this Part, regulations may require employers to keep any records that may be prescribed in relation to the earnings of persons employed by them and the periods during which those persons were employed, and to retain those records for prescribed periods.

Priority debts to Social Insurance Fund in a company winding-up.

[1993 s15(1); 1997 s35 & Sch G]

18.—For the purposes of section 285(2)(e) of the Companies Act 1963 —

(a) the amount referred to in that subsection is deemed to include any amount—

(i) which, apart from Article 9 of the Regulations of 1996 would otherwise have been an amount due at the relevant date in respect of sums which an employer is liable under Chapter 2 or 3 of Part 2 and any regulation thereunder (other than the said Article 9) to deduct from reckonable earnings or reckonable emoluments, to which those Chapters apply, paid by the employer during the period of 12 months next before the relevant date, and

(ii) with the addition of any interest payable under Article 10 of the Regulations of 1996,

and

(b) notwithstanding subsection (1) of section 285 of the Companies Act 1963 , the relevant date is deemed to be the date which is the ninth day after the end of the income tax month in which the relevant date (within the meaning of that subsection) occurred.

Winding-up and bankruptcy.

19.—(1) In this section “Act of 1988” means the Bankruptcy Act 1988 .

(2) The assets of a limited company in a winding-up under the Companies Acts 1963 to 2005 shall not include—

(a) any sum deducted by an employer from the remuneration of an employee of the employer paid before the winding-up in respect of an employment contribution due and unpaid by the employer in respect of that contribution, or

(b) any sum which would have been deducted from the remuneration of an employee in respect of an employment contribution for a period of employment before a winding-up had that remuneration been paid before the winding-up,

and in such a winding-up a sum equal in amount to the sum so deducted and unpaid or which would have been deducted and payable shall, notwithstanding anything in those Acts, be paid to the Social Insurance Fund in priority to the debts specified in section 285(2) of the Companies Act 1963 .

(3) A sum equal in amount to any sum deducted by an employer from the remuneration of an employee of the employer in respect of an employment contribution due by the employer and unpaid by the employer in respect of the contribution before the date of the order of adjudication or the filing of the petition for arrangement (as the case may be) shall not form part of the property of the bankrupt or arranging debtor so as to be included among the debts which under section 81 of the Act of 1988 are in the distribution of that property to be paid in priority to all other debts, but shall, before the distribution and notwithstanding anything in the Act of 1988, be paid to the Social Insurance Fund in priority to the debts specified in section 81 of the Act of 1988.

(4) Formal proof of a debt to which priority is given by this section is not required except where required by or under the Act of 1988 or the Companies Act 1963 .

(5) There shall be included among the debts which under section 81 of the Act of 1988 are, in the distribution of the property of a bankrupt or arranging debtor, to be paid in priority to all other debts, all employment contributions payable by the bankrupt or arranging debtor during the 12 months before the date of the order of adjudication in the case of a bankrupt or the filing of the petition for arrangement in the case of an arranging debtor, and that Act has effect accordingly, and formal proof of the debts to which priority is given under this subsection is not required except in cases where it may otherwise be provided by general orders made under that Act.

Chapter 3

Self-Employed Contributors and Self-Employment Contributions

Self-employed contributors and insured persons.

[1993 s17(1)]

20.—(1) Subject to this Act—

(a) every person who, being over the age of 16 years and under pensionable age (not being a person included in any of the classes of person specified in Part 3 of Schedule 1) who has reckonable income or reckonable emoluments, shall be a self-employed contributor for the purposes of this Act regardless of whether the person is also an employed contributor,

(b) every person becoming for the first time a self-employed contributor shall become insured under this Act and shall thereafter continue throughout his or her life to be so insured, and

(c) in the case of a person who, not having been an employed contributor at any time, becomes for the first time a self-employed contributor, the first day of the contribution year in which the person becomes a self-employed contributor shall be regarded as the date of entry into insurance.

(2) Regulations may provide for—

(a) including among self-employed contributors classes of person or part of any class of person specified in or included in Part 3 of Schedule 1,

(b) adding to the classes of person specified in Part 3 of Schedule 1,

(c) the modification of any of the provisions of this Act relating to self-employed contributors,

(d) the application (with or without modification) to self-employed contributors or self-employment contributions payable under section 21 (1)(a), (b) or (c) of any provisions of this Act which apply to employed contributors or employment contributions.

Rates of self-employment contributions and related matters.

[1993 s18(1); 2001 s36 & Sch E]

21.—(1) Self-employment contributions shall be paid by self-employed contributors in accordance with the following provisions:

(a) subject to paragraphs (b) and (f), where in any contribution year a self-employed contributor has reckonable income there shall be payable by him or her a self-employment contribution which shall be the greater of an amount equal to 3 per cent of the reckonable income or the amount of €253;

(b) where for any contribution year a self-employed contributor is informed by the Revenue Commissioners that he or she is not required to make a return of income within the meaning of section 1084 of the Act of 1997, self-employment contributions shall be paid by the self-employed contributor (whether by instalments or otherwise as may be prescribed) amounting to €157 in respect of that contribution year;

(c) subject to paragraph (f), where in any contribution year a payment is made to a self-employed contributor in respect of reckonable emoluments of that self-employed contributor, there shall be payable by him or her a self-employment contribution which shall be the greater of an amount equal to 3 per cent of the reckonable emoluments or the amount of €253;

(d) subject to regulations under section 22 , where a self-employment contribution has been paid by a self-employed contributor of not less than the amount that he or she is liable to pay under paragraph (a) or the amount specified in paragraph (b), whichever is appropriate, the self-employed contributor shall be regarded as having paid contributions for each contribution week in that contribution year and, where the contribution paid is less than that appropriate amount, no contribution shall be regarded as having been paid by the self-employed contributor in respect of any week of that contribution year;

(e) subject to section 26 (3), self-employment contributions shall be disregarded in determining whether the contribution conditions for any benefit other than old age (contributory) pension, widow’s (contributory) pension, widower’s (contributory) pension, orphan’s (contributory) allowance, maternity benefit, adoptive benefit or bereavement grant are satisfied;

(f) a person who, but for this paragraph, would be liable for contributions of €253 under paragraphs (a) and (c) shall be liable only for a single contribution of €253.

(2) Regulations may provide for adjustments in the calculation of amounts payable in respect of self-employment contributions to facilitate computation and for the elimination from self-employment contributions of amounts of not more than 5 cent and for the rounding up of amounts of more than 5 cent but less than 10 cent to 10 cent.

(3) Where, for a year of assessment (within the meaning of the Tax Acts), the Revenue Commissioners and an employer enter into an agreement under a specified provision of the Act of 1997 whereby the employer will account to the Revenue Commissioners, in accordance with that provision, in respect of the income tax due on qualifying emoluments (within the meaning of that provision) and where that agreement is not null and void, then in respect of those qualifying emoluments—

(a) the employer—

(i) as part of that agreement and in so far as the qualifying emoluments are comprised of reckonable emoluments of a self-employed contributor to which the agreement applies, shall pay a contribution at a rate of 3 per cent in respect of the aggregate of the amount of those reckonable emoluments and the amount of income tax payable under the agreement in respect of them, and

(ii) notwithstanding Article 7 of the Regulations of 1996, shall not be entitled to recover from an employed contributor any part of a contribution paid in accordance with subparagraph (i),

and

(b) a contribution paid in accordance with paragraph (a)(i) shall not be regarded as a self-employment contribution for the purposes of determining entitlement to any benefit specified in section 39 (1).

(4) In subsection (3) “specified provision” means such provision as may be prescribed for the purposes of that subsection.

Regulations providing for determination of contributions payable.

[1993 s19(1); 2001 s9(2)(a)]

22.—(1) Regulations may provide for the determination of the contributions payable, the amount or rates of those contributions, and the contribution weeks in respect of which those contributions shall be regarded as having been paid, in the case of a person who—

(a) becomes for the first time a self-employed contributor,

(b) ceases to be a self-employed contributor,

(c) is both an employed contributor and a self-employed contributor whether concurrently or not,

(d) in any contribution year has reckonable emoluments but does not have reckonable income,

(e) in any contribution year has both reckonable emoluments and reckonable income, or

(f) in any contribution year has reckonable emoluments which relate to a period less than the full year.

(2) The Minister may by regulations specify the circumstances in which contributions payable by a self-employed contributor may be treated as paid.

(3) For the purposes of this section “contributions” means—

(a) employment contributions payable under section 13 , and

(b) self-employment contributions payable under section 21 .

Regulations providing for collection of self-employment contributions, etc.

[1993 s20(1); 1997 s33(1)(a)]

23.—(1) For the purposes of self-employment contributions payable under section 21 (1)(a), (b) and (c), regulations may provide for—

(a) the time and manner of payment of self-employment contributions,

(b) the collection and the recovery of and the furnishing of details in relation to self-employment contributions,

(c) the charging of interest on arrears of self-employment contributions,

(d) the waiving of interest due on arrears of self-employment contributions,

(e) the estimation of amounts due in respect of self-employment contributions and appeals in relation to those estimates,

(f) the furnishing of returns by employers in relation to periods of insurable self-employment,

(g) the deduction by an employer from the reckonable emoluments of a self-employed contributor of any self-employment contribution reasonably believed by the employer to be due by the contributor, and adjustment in any case of over-deduction, and

(h) any matter ancillary or incidental to any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (g).

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under that subsection may provide for the assignment of any function relating to a matter referred to in that subsection to the Collector-General or any other specified person.

(3) The provisions of any enactment or instrument made under any enactment relating to—