S.I. No. 569/1998:

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED CONTRIBUTIONS AND INSURABILITY)(AMENDMENT) (NO. 4) (CREDITED CONTRIBUTIONS) REGULATIONS, 1998.

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED CONTRIBUTIONS AND INSURABILITY)(AMENDMENT) (NO. 4) (CREDITED CONTRIBUTIONS) REGULATIONS, 1998.

The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 4 and 27 (as amended by section 24 of the Social Welfare Act, 1996 (No. 7 of 1996)) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 (No. 27 of 1993), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 96/34/EC of 3 June 1996 on the Framework Agreement on Parental Leave insofar as it relates to the maintenance of social security rights acquired or in the process of being acquired by workers on the date he or she commence parental leave, hereby makes the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the construction. Social Welfare (Consolidated Insurability) (Amendment) (No. 4) (Credited Contributions) Regulations, 1998.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) Regulations, 1996 to 1998 shall be construed together as one and may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) Regulations, 1996 to 1998.

2. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended, by -

(a) the substitution in sub-article 58 (1) for paragraph (b) of the following paragraph -

"(b) in respect of any contribution week in which an insured person is in receipt of maternity benefit, health and safety benefit, adoptive benefit, invalidity pension, pre-retirement allowance and disability allowance, " , and

(b) the insertion after article 63 of the following article:

"Credits on cessation of a period of parental leave.

63A (1) Employment contributions shall be credited to an insured person in respect of each contribution week during which he or she avails of parental leave or force majeure leave under Part II of the Parental Leave Act, 1998 (No. 30 of 1998).

(2) Subject to articles 40 and 49 of the Regulations of 1994, an employment contribution credited to an insured person, by virtue of this article, in respect of whom the last previous contribution payable was -

(a) a contribution at the rate specified in articles 81(2) (a), 82(2) (a) or 83(2) (a) , or

(b) a voluntary contribution at the rate specified in section 22 (1) (b) (i)

shall be reckoned only for the purposes of widow's (contributory) pension or widower's (contributory) pension.".

GIVEN under the Official Seal of

the Minister for Social,

Community and Family Affairs,

this 3rd day of December, 1998.

DERMOT AHERN

Minister for Social, Community

and Family Affairs.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Regulation provides that employment contributions will be credited to insured persons who are in receipt of disability allowance.

The Regulation also provides that an employment contribution will be credited to an insured person for each week during which he or she avails of parental leave or force majeure leave under the terms of the Parental Leave Act, 1998 .