Vol. 486 No. 1
689 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the proposed statutory instruments being prepared in or under the auspices of his Department; the proposed effect of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1100/98]
The Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Educational Opportunities) Regulations, 1998, are at an advanced stage of preparation. These regulations extend the scope of the Back to Education programmes by providing that unemployed people may now attend approved courses of education, training or development which largely fall outside the realm of formal second level and third level courses. Participants on these courses may continue to receive their social welfare payments for the duration of the course. The qualifying conditions for all educational programmes are also standardised, requiring participants to be at least 21 years of age and in receipt of a social welfare payment for at least six months. These regulations which require the counter-signature of the Minister for Finance will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in the near future. I am also considering introducing, during 1998, statutory instruments relating to:
—late claims for contributory pensions;
—supplementary welfare allowance appeals;
—rounding provisions for special partial old age (contributory) pension;
—contributions payable by liable relatives towards the cost of social welfare payments to a spouse or children;
—payment of social insurance contributions by certain self-employed contributors with no net liability for income tax;
—existing conditions for unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance;
—arrangements applying to social welfare schemes where a person is absent from the State or imprisoned, and
—annual revaluation of preserved benefit of occupational pensions under the Pensions Act, 1990.
