S.I. No. 261/1991:

SOCIAL WELFARE (FULL-TIME EDUCATION) REGULATIONS, 1991.

SOCIAL WELFARE (FULL-TIME EDUCATION) REGULATIONS, 1991.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 (No. 1 of 1981) and by section 2 (1) of that Act (as amended by section 6 of the Social Welfare Act, 1991 (No. 7 of 1991)), hereby makes the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Full-time Education) Regulations, 1991.

2. In these Regulations--

"the Act" means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 ;

"academic year" means a period in which a course of instruction or part of a cycle of education takes place in a calendar year or a period in which a course of instruction or part of a cycle of education commences in one calendar year and finishes in the next following calendar year;

"beneficiary" means a person in receipt of or entitled to an increase in any benefit, pension, assistance or allowance under the Act in respect of a qualified child who is of or over the age of 18 years and under the age of 21 years;

"institution of education" means--

(a) a school,

(b) a college,

(c) a university,

(d) any institution providing a course of instruction approved by the Minister for Education or the National Council for Educational Awards or C.E.R.T. Limited, or

(e) any other institution approved by the Minister for Social Welfare;

3. These Regulations shall apply--

(a) in so far as they relate to unemployment assistance in the case of an applicant who, in any continuous period of unemployment as construed in accordance with section 135 (2) of the Act, has been in receipt of unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance for not less than 390 days, from the 29th day of May, 1991 and

(b) in so far as they related to disablement pension, death benefit by way of widow's or widower's pension, old age (contributory) pension, retirement pension, survivor's benefit, invalidity pension, widow's (contributory) pension, deserted wife's benefit, pre-retirement allowance, old age (non-contributory) pension, blind pension, widow's (non-contributory) pension, lone parent's allowance or carer's allowance, from the 1st day of June, 1991 and

(c) in so far as they relate to family income supplement, from the 24th day of October, 1991.

4. (1) Subject to these Regulations, for the purposes of section 2 (1) of the Act, a person shall be regarded as receiving full-time education while he is attending on a full-time basis a course of full-time instruction by day at an institution of education.

(2) Subject to article 6 of these Regulations, for the purposes of sub-article (1) of this article a course of full-time instruction at an institution of education shall not be regarded as including--

(a) a course of training or instruction provided or approved by An Foras Aiseanna Saothair and in respect of which an allowance is payable, but excluding a course known as YOUTHREACH, or

(b) a course of training or instruction which forms part of an employment or work experience programme, or

(c) a course of training or instruction which arises from employment, or

(d) a course of training or instruction which comprises, in an academic year, a period of work experience in respect of which remuneration is paid, where such period exceeds the time spent receiving instruction or tuition at an institution of education, or

(e) a course of training or instruction provided or approved by Teagasc, where, in an academic year such training or instruction comprises a period of work experience which exceeds the time spent receiving instruction or tuition at an institution of education.

5. (1) For the purposes of sub-article (1) of article 4 of these Regulations a person shall be regarded as contintuing to receive full-time education--

(a) for periods during an academic year when that person is not attending an institution of education arising from the temporary interruption to the provision of a course of full-time instruction or part of a cycle of education by an institution of education, and

(b) for the period immediately following the completion by that person of part of a cycle of education, where such part finishes between the 1st day of May and the 30th day of June in an academic year, up to and including the 3rd Sunday of the next following October or an earlier date if the beneficiary so elects.

(2) Paragraph (b) of sub-article (1) of this article shall not apply to a person who completes the final part of a cycle of education, other than the final part of a cycle approved by the Minister for Education for the Leaving Certificate Examination of the Department of Education, and terminates his attendance at an institution of education.

6. Sub-article (2) of article 4 shall not operate so as to disentitle a beneficiary to an increase for a person where immediately before the commencement of these Regulations that person was regarded as receiving full-time instruction by day at a university, college, school or other institution of education by virtue of his participation in a course of training or instruction specified in that sub-article.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this

4th day of October, 1991.

MICHAEL WOODS,

Minister for Social Welfare.

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

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this

4th day of October, 1991.

ALBERT REYNOLDS,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations specify the circumstances in which a person between the age of 18 years and 21 years will be regarded as receiving full-time education for the purposes of paying an increase for a qualified child to recipients of old age (contributory or non-contributory) pension, retirement pension, blind pension, pre-retirement allowance, invalidity pension, widow's (contributory or non-contributory) pension, survivors benefit, deserted wife's benefit, lone parent's allowance, carer's allowance, family income supplement, disablement pension, death benefit by way of widow's or widower's pension under the occupational injuries scheme or unemployment assistance (long-term rate).

The regulations also provide that a period of full-time education shall include periods during an academic year when a course of education or instruction is temporarily interrupted and during the summer months in cases where a course of education or instruction is resuming.