In the case referred to by the Deputy, a married woman was refused payment of the higher rate of disability benefit as the deciding officer, who determined her claim, decided that she was not living apart from her husband. On appeal, this decision was upheld by an appeals officer.
The statutory authority is contained in—
(a) subsection (3) of Section 14 and paragraph 1 (a) (i) and (ii) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Social Welfare Act, 1952, as amended by Section 5 of the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1956;
(b) subsection (6) of Section 2 and subsection (1) of Section 27 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 and the Children's Allowances (Normal Residence) Rules, 1946 (S.I. No. 152 of 1946); and
(c) paragraph (b) of Section 26 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952.
It is provided in Section 42 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952, that subject to the provisions of the Act and in accordance with any relevant regulations, every question arising in relation to a claim for benefit shall be decided by a deciding officer. Accordingly I am not responsible for decisions in relation to claims for benefit.
Subject to the foregoing qualification I may say that if a husband and wife are living apart from each other, and the wife fulfils all the other conditions for the higher rate of disability benefit, she would be entitled to the higher rate even though her husband were in prison on a civil or criminal charge or were interned.