STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 85 of 1999.

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED CONTRIBUTIONS AND INSURABILITY) (AMENDMENT) (CONTRIBUTIONS) REGULATIONS, 1999.

S.I. No. 85 of 1999.

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED CONTRIBUTIONS AND INSURABILITY) (AMENDMENT) (CONTRIBUTIONS) REGULATIONS, 1999.

The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 4, 11 (as amended by section 12 of the Social Welfare Act, 1996 ( No. 7 of 1996 )) and 27 (as amended by section 24 of the Social Welfare Act, 1996 , 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 (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) (Amendment) (Contributions) Regulations, 1999.

(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 1999.

Modified contributions.

2. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by--

(a) The substitution in article 35(b) (ii) and 63(3) for “death grant” of “bereavement grant”,

(b) the substitution for article 56(3) of the following sub-article:

“(3) Subject to sub-article (4), employment contributions reckonable only for retirement pension, old age (contributory) pension and bereavement grant purposes shall be credited to an employed contributor who, following a period during which he was employed in an employment in respect of which contributions were payable at any of the rates specified in article 81(2)(a), 82(2)(a) or 83(2)(a) commences employment which is insurable for retirement pension and old age (contributory) pension purposes, for the period between the beginning of the contribution year last preceding that in which he commenced such employment and the date of commencement of such employment.”,

(c) the substitution in articles 57(2), 58(4) and 63A (inserted by article 2 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) (Amendment) (No. 4) (Credited Contributions) Regulations, 1998) for “Subject to articles 40 and 49” of “Subject to article 85 of these Regulations and articles 40 and 49”,

(d) the substitution in article 60(2) for paragraph (b) of the following paragraph:

“(b) an employment contribution at any of the rates specified in article 81(2)(a), 82(2)(a) or 83(2)(a), shall only be taken into account for benefits in respect of which these contributions are reckonable.”,

(e) the insertion in article 81(2)(b) after “deserted wife's benefit,” of “bereavement grant,”,

(f) the insertion in article 82(2)(b) after “deserted wife's benefit” of “bereavement grant,”,

(g) the insertion in article 83(2)(b) after “deserted wife's benefit,” of “bereavement grant,”,

(h) the substitution for article 85 of the following article:

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 that in the case of public servants who pay a modified rate of social insurance (as provided for in articles 81, 82 and 83 of the Principal Regulations) or in respect of whom modified contributions are credited, such contributions or credited contributions shall also be reckoned for the purposes of Bereavement Grant.

The Regulation also substitutes the term “Bereavement Grant” for “Death Grant” wherever it occurs.