No. 37/1946:

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACT, 1946

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1 Short title and collective citation.

2 Definitions.

3 Commencement of Part II of this Act.

PART II SPECIAL BENEFIT

4 Right of certain persons to special benefit.

5 Statutory conditions for receipt of special benefit.

6 Rates of special benefit and limitation on aggregate amount thereof.

7 Determination of claims and questions.

8 Application of certain provisions of the Irish Acts and regulations made thereunder.

9 Recovery of overpayments.

10 Restrictions on payment or benefits under the Irish Acts and of unemployment assistance.

11 Amendment of section 8 of the Act of 1920.

12 Power of Minster to amend Part II to give effect to modifications of the arrangements.

13 Regulations.

14 Expenses.

PART III PROVISIONS IN RELATION TO FORMER MEMBERS OF THE DEFENCE FORCES RESIDENT IN NORTHERN IRELAND

15 Provisions in relation to former members of the Defence Force resident in Northern Ireland.

AN ACT TO ENABLE EFFECT TO BE GIVEN IN THE STATE TO CERTAIN CONTEMPLATED ARRANGEMENTS UNDER WHICH THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM ARE TO UNDERTAKE TO MEET THE COST OF PAYING BENEFITS, IN RESPECT OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE STATE, TO CERTAIN PERSONS WHO SERVED IN THE FORCES OF THE SAID GOVERNMENT AND TO AMEND THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACTS, 1920 TO 1945.

[19th December, 1946.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS, AS FOLLOWS:—

PART I PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1946 .

(2) The Irish Acts and this Act may be cited together as the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 to 1946.

2.—In this Act—

the expression "the Act of 1920" means the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920;.

the expression "the Act of 1926" means the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1926 (No. 21 of 1926);

the expression "the Act of 1945" means the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1945 (No. 23 of 1945);

the expression "the arrangements" means the arrangements referred to in section 3 of this Act;

the expression "the British Acts" means the Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom known as the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1935 to 1944;

the expression "the British Unemployment Fund" means the Unemployment Fund established under the British Acts;

the expression "the Irish Acts" means the Unemployment insurance Acts, 1920 to 1945;

the expression "the Minister" means the Minister for Industry, and Commerce;

the word "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

the expression "the Scheme" means The Insurance industry Unemployment Insurance Scheme established under the Irish Acts;

the expression "special benefit" means the benefit payable under section 4 of this Act;

the expression "the statutory conditions" means the conditions set out in section 5 of this Act.

3.—(1) Part II of this Act shall not come into operation save as is provided by subsection (2) of this section.

(2) If, but only if, arrangements have been entered into between the Government and the Government of the United Kingdom whereby the Government of the United Kingdom undertake to meet the cost of paying to persons in the State benefit in respect of periods during which those persons fulfil the statutory conditions, the Minister may by order declare that Part II of this Act shall come into operation on such date as he specifies in the order, and thereupon the said Part II shall come into force on the date so specified.

PART II SPECIAL BENEFIT

4.—As from the date of the commencement of this Part and during the continuance of the arrangements, every person who fulfils the statutory conditions shall, subject to the provisions of this Part, be entitled to receive payments of benefit at such rates as are authorised by this Part and at intervals corresponding to those from time to time fixed for the payment of unemployment benefit under the Irish Acts.

5.—The statutory conditions for the receipt of special benefit by a person are that such person—

( a ) makes a claim therefor in the prescribed manner,

( b ) served, during the whole or any part of the period which commenced on the 3rd day of September, 1939, and ended on the 14th day of August, 1945, in the Forces of the United Kingdom in service of any kind specified in the arrangements,

( c ) was, at any time before entering service in the said Forces, ordinarily resident in the State,

( d ) has been discharged from the said Forces,

( e ) has not less than thirty contributions credited to him in the British Unemployment Fund in respect of service in the said Forces in respect of the two years immediately preceding the date of his first claim for special benefit,

( f ) satisfies the conditions (other than those relating to contributions) for the receipt of unemployment benefit under the Irish Acts,

( g ) is free from the disqualifications (other than the disqualification relating to contributions) for the receipt of unemployment benefit under the Irish Acts, and

( h ) has not received in respect of special benefit the aggregate amount which may, under subsection (2) of section 6 of this Act, be paid to him.

6.—(1) ( a ) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, special benefit payable to any person entitled thereto shall be at the weekly rate which is as respects that person the appropriate weekly rate of unemployment benefit under the British Acts.

( b ) Where a person who is entitled to special benefit has a dependant or dependants, within the meaning of the Irish Acts, the weekly rate of special benefit of that person shall be increased by an amount equal to the amount payable under the British Acts as an increase of unemployment benefit but such increase shall, in respect of dependent children, be limited to not more than two.

(2) ( a ) The aggregate amount of special benefit payable to any one person shall not exceed the amount which could be paid to that person under subsection (1) of this section in respect of a period of one hundred and eighty days.

( b ) Where a person entitled to special benefit has, since his discharge from the Forces of the United Kingdom, been paid unemployment benefit in the United Kingdom, then the period of one hundred and eighty days referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be reduced by the number of days in respect of which unemployment benefit has been so paid.

(3) The Minister may by regulations under this Act reduce the weekly rates fixed by subsection (1) of this section, but such regulations (if made) shall not, in the case of any person, operate to reduce the aggregate amount, referred to in subsection (2) of this section, of special benefit of that person.

7.—(1) Every claim for special benefit and every question arising thereon shall be determined as if that claim or question were a claim for unemployment benefit or a question arising thereon under the Irish Acts, and every insurance officer and court of referees and the umpire under the Irish Acts shall have, in relation to special benefit, the same powers and duties as those conferred or imposed by the Irish Acts on such insurance officer, court of referees or umpire in relation to unemployment benefit under the Irish Acts.

(2) If any question arises as to whether any increase of special benefit ought to be made under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 6 of this Act that question shall be decided as if it were a question arising under section 1 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1922.

8.—(1) All the provisions (including penal provisions) of the Irish Acts which apply to unemployment benefit under the Irish Acts (except subsections (5) and (6) of section 22 of the Act of 1920 and section 9 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1923 (No. 17 of 1923), shall, so far as those provisions are not inconsistent with this Part, apply to special benefit.

(2) Regulations made under the Irish Acts in relation to unemployment benefit under the Irish Acts shall, so far as those regulations are not inconsistent with this Part, apply in relation to special benefit.

9.—(1) If it is found at any time that a person has been in receipt of special benefit while the statutory conditions were not fulfilled in his case, he shall be liable to repay to the Minister any sums paid to him in respect of special benefit while the statutory conditions were not fulfilled.

(2) The Minister may recover from any person as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction any sums which that pension is liable to repay to the Minister under subsection (1) of this section.

(3) ( a ) Where any person is liable under subsection (1) of this section to repay to the Minister any sum received by him by way of special benefit and does not show that such sum was received by him in good faith and without knowledge that he was not entitled thereto, then, such sum may, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, be recovered by means of deductions from any special benefit to which such person is or thereafter becomes entitled.

( b ) Section 11 of the Act of 1920 shall apply to every question arising under paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(4) Any moneys repaid to, or recovered by, the Minister under this section shall be applied by him as if those moneys were moneys transferred to him from the British Unemployment Fund.

10.—A person shall not, in respect of any day for which he is in receipt of special benefit, be entitled to receive—

( a ) unemployment benefit under the Irish Acts, or

( b ) out-of-work benefit under the Scheme, or

( c ) unemployment assistance under the Unemployment Assistance Acts, 1933 to 1940.

11.—Any insurance year during the whole or any part of which a person is in receipt of special benefit and during which no contribution is paid in respect of that person under the Irish Acts or the Scheme shall be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (4) of section 8 of the Act of 1920, as amended by section 6 of the Act of 1926, or the said subsection (4) as so amended and applied to the Scheme.

12.—If the arrangements are modified at any time after the commencement of this Part, the Minister may by regulations under this Act make such amendments of this Part as are in his opinion necessary for giving effect to the arrangements as so modified.

13.—The Minister may make regulations in relation to any matter or thing referred to in this Part as prescribed.

14.—(1) All payments of special benefit shall be made out of moneys transferred to the Minister from the British Unemployment Fund.

(2) The expenses (other than the payment of special benefit) incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Part shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART III PROVISIONS IN RELATION TO FORMER MEMBERS OF THE DEFENCE FORCES RESIDENT IN NORTHERN IRELAND

15.—(1) ( a ) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Irish Acts, unemployment benefit in respect of contributions acquired by him in the Unemployment Fund under the Act of 1945 shall, during residence in Northern Ireland, be payable to a discharged member of the Defence Forces who was ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland at any time before enlistment and who but for residence in Northern Ireland would be entitled to unemployment benefit.

( b ) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the insurance year following discharge of a member of the Defence Forces shall, if no contribution is paid in respect of him under the Irish Acts during that year, be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (4) of section 8 of the Act of 1920, as amended by section 6 of the Act of 1926.

(2) ( a ) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Scheme out-of-work benefit under the Scheme in respect of contributions acquired by him in the Joint Insurance Fund under the Act of 1945 shall, during residence in Northern Ireland, be payable to a discharged member of the Defence Forces who was ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland at any time before enlistment and who but for residence in Northern Ireland would be entitled to out-of-work benefit under the Scheme.

( b ) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the insurance year following discharge of a member of the Defence Forces shall, if no contribution is paid in respect of him under the Scheme during that year, be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (4) of section 8 of the Act of 1920, as amended by section 6 of the Act of 1926 and applied to the Scheme.

(3) Every word or expression used in this section which is also used in the Act of 1945 has in this section the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1945.