Vol. 460 No. 3
473 Ms F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Social Welfare the proposals for legislation being prepared under the auspices of his Department that have not yet been published; and the statutory instruments being prepared in his Department. [19392/96]
My Department has commenced work on the preparation of the 1996 Social Welfare Bill, which will include provision for the budgetary improvements in the social welfare code, the transfer of the disabled person's maintenance allowance scheme from the Department of Health to my Department and for certain miscellaneous amendments to the social welfare code.
In relation to statutory instruments, my Department is finalising a code of practice dealing with the repayment of overpayments as provided for in section 282 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993. Other draft statutory instruments which are currently being prepared will outline the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be regarded as wholly or mainly maintaining another person; standardise the arrangements applying in the various social welfare schemes where a person is absent from the State or imprisoned; and consolidate the regulatory provisions in relation to the award of credited contributions.
474 Ms F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Social Welfare the Acts and provisions of Acts under the auspices of his Department which, as of 1 January 1996, are not in force in view of the fact that a commencement order has not been made; whether it is proposed to make such an order in each case; and if so, when. [19414/96]
The provisions of the Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1995, which provide for the necessary changes in the social welfare code to ensure that no spouse will be disadvantaged in terms of social welfare entitlements as a result of his or her legal status being changed from married, separated or deserted to divorced, have not yet commenced. One of these provisions, namely section 10 (3), contains regulatory powers to determine the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be regarded as wholly or mainly maintaining another person. I intend to commence this subsection shortly and a draft of the relevant regulations is currently being prepared. The commencement order to bring the remaining provisions into effect will be made to coincide with the proposed enactment of the Family Law (Divorce) Bill which is expected, subject to the outcome of the referendum petition, to be introduced by the Minister for Equality and Law Reform before Easter.
Another provision which has not been brought into effect is section 22 of the Social Welfare Act, 1995, which deals with the question of payments for people who are absent from the State or imprisoned. This provision, which contains regulatory powers, was designed to standardise the arrangements applying in the various social welfare schemes. A draft of the relevant regulations is being prepared and I propose to commence this section as soon as these regulations are finalised.
The remaining provisions of the Social Welfare Acts in respect of which Commencement Orders have not been made are set out in the following table.
|
Relevant Provision |
General Outline |
|
Section 15 Social Welfare Act, 1995 |
provides for regulatory powers to facilitate the payment of an adult dependant allowance in respect of a spouse or partner who has weekly income in excess of a prescribed amount. |
|
Section 20 Social Welfare Act, 1994 |
provides for the integration of injury benefit and unemployability supplement, payable under the occupational injuries benefits scheme with disability benefit. |
|
Paragraph 1, Sixth Schedule to the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 |
provides for an amendment to the contribution conditions for entitlement to invalidity pension, to require claimants to have earnings in excess of a prescribed amount in a prescribed period in order to qualify for the standard rate of pension. |
|
Paragraph 2, Sixth Schedule to the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 |
provides that where a person is found to be fraudulently claiming a social welfare payment, they can be disqualified from receiving any payment, other than child benefit, for a period of up to nine weeks. |
|
Paragraph 4, Sixth Schedule the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 |
provides that where a person is convicted of an offence of fraudulent claiming, the period of disqualification for receipt of a social welfare payment shall be increased to three months. |
