Social Welfare (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 1984: From the Seanad.

An Ceann Comhairle

There are five amendments from the Seanad. Is it agreed to take them now?

Agreed.

The Dáil went into Committee to consider amendments from the Seanad.

Minister of State at the Department of Social Welfare (Mr. Pattison)

The amendments are all of a technical or drafting nature.

An Ceann Comhairle

We will consider them together and put them separately.

Mr. Pattison

I move that the Committee agree with the Seanad in amendment No. 1:

Section 2:

In page 3, line 14, "1984" deleted and "1985" substituted.

The first amendment relates to the long Title. The Bill was initially circulated in December 1984 with the objective of providing equal treatment for men and women in matters of social welfare and for that purpose to amend the Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1984. Since then a further Social Welfare Act, 1985, was enacted and it was necessary for the long Title to be amended to refer to the Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1985.

This section of the Bill provides for the insertion of a new Schedule to the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981. The Schedules to the Consolidation Act contains the rates of benefit, which are updated every year. When the Bill was circulated in December last the most recent updating had been effected by the Social Welfare Act, 1984, and reference to this Act was made in section 2. Since then however, a further Social Welfare Act of 1985, inserted a later Schedule and it was necessary to make reference to this latest 1985 Act in the Bill.

The final three amendments, all similar, were to section 7. They are purely drafting changes. Section 7 of the Bill provides for the amendment of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981, which is referred to as the Principal Act by the insertion of a new subsection. However, the insertions themselves contained references to the Principal Act which are incorrect as they will become part of the Principal Act. The correct expression is "this Act". The three amendments simply provide, therefore, for the substitution of the expression: "this Act" for "the Principal Act" in three places in section 7 of the Bill.

Question put and agreed to.