S.I.   No.   629   of 2002

SOCIAL WELFARE (RENT ALLOWANCE) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) REGULATIONS, 2002

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by section 28 (inserted by section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002 ( Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act, 1982 ( section 4 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 ( No. 27 of 1993 ), hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and construction.

1. (1)  These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 2002.

(2)  These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1998 to 2002 shall be construed together as one and may be cited as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1998 to 2002.

Commencement.

2. These Regulations come into operation on 2 January 2003.

Definition.

3. In these Regulations “the Principal Regulations” means the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 188 of 1998 ).

Amount of rent allowance.

4. Article 7 of the Principal Regulations is amended by the substitution for sub-articles (1) and (2) (as amended by article 4 of the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 1) Regulations, 2002 ( S.I. No. 354 of 2002 )) of the following sub-articles:

“(1)  An allowance, in the case of -

(a)  a married person whose weekly means do not exceed EUR 278.80, or

(b)  any other person whose weekly means do not exceed EUR 157.30,

shall be a weekly amount equal to the amount by which the rent (calculated as a weekly rent) fixed by a Court, or by the Tribunal, or by a rent officer on or after the 25th day of July, 2002 exceeds the rent so calculated payable prior to that date:

Provided that where the rent so calculated payable prior to that date was less than EUR 12, the allowance shall be the amount by which the rent so calculated fixed by a Court, or by the Tribunal, or by a rent officer exceeds EUR 12.

(2)  An allowance, in the case of persons whose weekly means exceed the amounts specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of sub-article (1), as the case may be, shall be the amount of allowance that would arise if the provisions of sub-article (1) applied, reduced -

(a)  in the case of a married person, by 50 cent for each EUR 1 of weekly means in excess of EUR 278.80, but not exceeding EUR 478.80, and by EUR 1 for each EUR 1 of weekly means in excess of EUR 478.80, and

(b)  in any other case, by 50 cent for each EUR 1 of weekly means in excess of EUR 157.30, but not exceeding EUR 357.30, and by EUR 1 for each EUR 1 of weekly means in excess of EUR 357.30.”.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

These Regulations provide for increases in the amount of means disregarded for people affected by the decontrol of rents and the minimum rent for the purposes of the Rent Allowance scheme with effect from 2nd January 2003.