STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 54 of 2005 .

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED SUPPLEMENTARY WELFARE ALLOWANCE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2005.

S.I. No. 54 of 2005 .

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED SUPPLEMENTARY WELFARE ALLOWANCE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2005.

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 4, 179 (as amended by section 13 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 (No. 4 of 2003) and 188 and Rule 1(1) of Part III of the Third Schedule of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993 (No. 27 of 1993), hereby make the following regulations:--

Citation and construction.

1.  (1) These regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations 2005.

(2) These regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 1995 shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 1995 to 2005.

Commencement.

2.  These regulations come into operation on 31 January 2005.

Definitions.

3.  In these regulations--

“the Principal Regulations” means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 1995.

Definition -- refusal of offer of accommodation.

4.  The Principal Regulations are amended in article 3 by the insertion of the following after the definition of “qualified dietician”:

“‘refusal’, for the purposes of paragraph (dd) of article 9(2), includes a failure to accept within such time limit or in such manner as is specified by the relevant housing authority or other approved body for acceptance;”.

Definition -- tenant.

5.  The Principal Regulations are amended in article 3 by the insertion of the following after the definition of “supplementary welfare allowance”:

“‘tenant’ means a person for the time being entitled to the occupation of any residential premises by virtue of any contract, agreement or license under or in respect of which rent is paid;”.

Entitlement to rent supplement.

6.  The Principal Regulations are amended in sub-article 9(2) (as amended by article 5 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 728 of 2003 ))--

(a)  by substituting for paragraph (aa) the following paragraphs:

“(aa) at the time of application for a supplement under sub-article (1), the Health Service Executive is satisfied that the claimant--

(i)   (I)  could reasonably have afforded the rent at the commencement of the tenancy,

(II)  in so far as was reasonable in all the circumstances, had at the commencement of the tenancy, an expectation that he or she would be able to afford the rent into the future, and

(III) has experienced a substantial change in his or her circumstances leading to an inability to afford the rent, such change in circumstances not having occurred by any design on the part of the claimant;

or

(ii)  (I)  is regarded by a housing authority as being homeless in accordance with section 2 of the Housing Act, 1988 ( No. 28 of 1988 ),

(II)  is assessed by a housing authority as having a housing need,

(III) is a tenant of a body approved by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for the purposes of Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 ( No. 18 of 1992 ),

(IV) is aged 65 years or over,

(V)  is in receipt of disability allowance, invalidity pension or blind pension from the Department of Social and Family Affairs or an equivalent payment from another country of the European Union with which the State has a reciprocal social security agreement, or

(VI) is subject to any other circumstance in respect of which, in the opinion of the Health Service Executive, the provisions of Article 31 of the Principal Regulations apply;”

and

(b)  by substituting for paragraph (dd) the following:

“(dd)  the claimant has not refused for a third time, within any continuous 18-month period commencing on or after 31 January 2004, an offer of accommodation provided by either a housing authority or a body approved by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for the purposes of Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 ( No. 18 of 1992 ) (including accommodation provided under the scheme known as the Rental Accommodation Scheme) and, where such refusal has occurred, a supplement under sub-article (1) shall not be payable for a period of 12 months from the date of the refusal.”.

Rent supplement income disregard.

7.  The Principal Regulations are amended by the substitution for sub-article 9(3) (as inserted by Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 1) (Income Disregards) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 635 of 2001 )), of the following:--

“(3)  (a)  the higher amount prescribed for the purposes of sub-paragraph (i) of Rule 1(1) (p) of Part III of the Third Schedule to the Principal Act shall be €60 per week, and

(b)  the amount prescribed for the purposes of sub-paragraph (iv) of Rule 1(1) (p) of Part III of the Third Schedule to the Principal Act shall be €60 per week in respect of attendance at any such training courses as the Minister may determine from time to time.”.

Miscellaneous renumbering.

8.  The Principal Regulations are amended by the substitution for sub-article 9(3) (as inserted by the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 1) Regulations 2002 ( S.I. No. 527 of 2002 )) of the following:

“9(4) A rent supplement shall not be payable where the amount of rent exceeds the appropriate maximum amount of rent as determined under paragraph (g) of sub-article (2).”

Amendment of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations, 1994 -- assessment of maintenance for rent and mortgage interest supplement.

9.  Article 89 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 417 of 1994 ) (as amended by article 2 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 2) (Means Assessment) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 235 of 2003 )) is amended:--

(a)  by the insertion in sub-article (1)(a) of “subject to (aa),” before “the net cash value”,

and

(b)  by the insertion, after sub-article (1)(a), of the following:

“(aa) for the purposes of determining a rent or mortgage interest supplement payable to a person in accordance with the provisions of Part III of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 382 of 1995 ), the net cash value to the person of his or her annual housing costs actually incurred and paid by a liable relative, subject to a disregard of any amount in excess of €4,952 per annum and less than €8,072 per annum,”.

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 amendments to the conditions for entitlement to Supplementary Welfare Allowance Rent Supplement.

These regulations provide for payment of rent supplement in cases where a person is--

(i)  assessed as having a housing need by a local authority;

(ii) homeless (in accordance with the Housing Act 1988 );

(iii) a tenant in accommodation provided by a voluntary housing body;

(iv) aged 65 years or over;

(iv) in receipt of disability allowance, invalidity pension or blind pension;

(v) subject to any other circumstance or exceptional need, in the opinion of the Health Service Executive, to which the provisions of Article 31 of the Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance Regulations apply, is a person to whom a supplement ought to be paid.

The Regulations discontinue the requirement that a person who is not in one of the above categories must have been in rented accommodation, accommodation for homeless persons or an institution (including a prison or place of detention) for not less than 183 days (6 months) in the 12 month period immediately preceding the date of application in order to be entitled to rent supplement.

The Regulations provide that payment of rent supplement to people who are not in one of the above categories can be made only if the Health Service Executive is satisfied that:

(i)  in all the circumstances he or she could reasonably have afforded the rent at the commencement of the tenancy;

(ii)  in so far as was reasonable in all the circumstances had an expectation that he or she would be able to afford the rent into the future; and

(iii) has experienced a substantial change in his or her circumstances leading to an inability to pay the rent.

The Regulations also change the rule that rent supplement would not be payable for 12 months, after a second offer of accommodation by a local authority had been refused in any 12 month period, so that the supplement does not become forfeit until after a third refusal in a continuous 18-month period. Such refusal includes any offer made to a person under the new Rental Accommodation Scheme managed by local authorities.

The Regulations also make a technical correction to the numbering of the subsections of Article 9 of the Principal Regulations by the addition of a new sub-article 9(4).

The earned income disregard for rent supplement is raised from €50 to €60. The same disregard of €60 is also being applied to income from attendance at a range of approved training courses. The Regulations also specify that the same disregard of up to €60 per week (€3,120 per annum) shall be applied to the net cash value of maintenance paid by way of rent or mortgage interest directly by a liable relative of an applicant, taking account of amounts of such maintenance already disregarded in means assessments for his or her basic social assistance payments.

These Regulations come into operation on 31 January 2005.