S.I. No. 202/1973:

SOCIAL WELFARE (DESERTED WIFE'S BENEFIT) REGULATIONS, 1973.

SOCIAL WELFARE (DESERTED WIFE'S BENEFIT) REGULATIONS, 1973.

The Minister for Social Welfare in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952) and section 28C of the said Act (inserted therein by section 17 of the Social Welfare Act, 1973 ) (No. 10 of 1973), hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Deserted Wife's Benefit) Regulations, 1973.

2. In these Regulations unless the context otherwise requires--

"the Act of 1952 " means the Social Welfare Act, 1952 ;

"the Act of 1973" means the Social Welfare Act, 1973 ;

"benefit" means deserted wife's benefit payable under section 25E of the Act of 1952 (as inserted by section 17 of the Act of 1973);

"relevant period" means the period over which the yearly average of contributions is calculated for benefit purposes in accordance with paragraph 10 of the Fourth Schedule to the Act of 1952 (added thereto by section 17 of the Act of 1973).

3. The following are hereby prescribed as conditions to be satisfied by a woman for the purposes of section 25E of the Act of 1952 (inserted therein by section 17 of the Act of 1973)--

(i) She shall be resident in the State at the date of her claim to benefit and shall during any period of two years, have been so resident.

(ii) She and any person shall not be cohabiting as man and wife.

4. Where a person would be entitled to benefit but for the fact that the relevant contribution conditions are not satisfied as respects the average number of contributions paid or credited per contribution year in the relevant period the following provisions shall apply--

(a) where the average number of contributions paid in respect of or credited to the person per contribution year in the relevant period is not less than twenty-four, she shall be entitled to the benefit;

(b) where the average number of such contributions is a number included in one of the groups of numbers specified in the first column of the Schedule hereto, fractions of whole numbers being disregarded, the benefit shall be payable at the weekly rate shown opposite to that group of numbers in the second column of the said Schedule.

SCHEDULE

Reduced rates of deserted wife's benefit where contribution conditions are partially satisfied.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this 5th day of July, 1973.

BRENDAN CORISH,

Minister for Social Welfare.

The Minister for Finance hereby sanctions the foregoing Regulations so far as they relate to payment of benefit where contribution conditions are partially satisfied.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this 13th day of July, 1973.

RICHIE RYAN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Social Welfare Act, 1973 (No. 10 of 1973) makes provision for the payment of benefit, subject to conditions prescribed in the Act and such further conditions as may be prescribed by Regulation, to wives deserted by their husbands. The Act also provides that Regulations may be made which permit payment of benefit at reduced rates in cases where the relevant contribution conditions are not satisfied in relation to the average number of contributions paid or credited per contribution year. These Regulations provide for payment, in accordance with the Schedule therein, of reduced rates of benefit in such cases provided the average of contributions paid or credited is not less than 24. The Regulations also provide that a claimant must be resident in the State at the date her claim is made; that she shall not be granted benefit unless she has during any period of two years been resident in the State and that she shall not be entitled to receive benefit if and so long as she and any person are cohabiting as man and wife.