S.I. No. 45/1978:

SOCIAL WELFARE (NORMAL RESIDENCE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1978.

SOCIAL WELFARE (NORMAL RESIDENCE) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1978.

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 subsection (6) of section 2 of the said Act (as amended by the Social Welfare Act, 1974 ) (No. 12 of 1974), hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Normal Residence) (Amendment) Regulations, 1978.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Normal Residence) Regulations, 1974 ( S.I. No. 211 of 1974 ) shall be construed as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Normal Residence) Regulations, 1974 and 1978.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of April, 1978.

3. In these Regulations--

"the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Normal Residence) Regulations, 1974.

4. Article 6 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the deletion, after the words "where that person is the mother", of the words "who is not a widow or a married woman living apart from her husband and".

5. The following article shall be inserted in the Principal Regulations after article 6:--

"6A. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 6, a qualified child who is resident with his mother who is living apart from the child's father or step-father and is not herself claiming or in receipt of benefit, assistance or pension, shall be regarded as normally residing with his father or step-father and with no other person if the father or step-father, as the case may be, is contributing substantially to the child's support."

6. Article 8 of the Principal Regulations is hereby deleted and the following article substituted therefor:--

"8. A qualified child, whose mother is a widow or is living apart from the child's father or step-father, and who is resident elsewhere than with his parent or step-parent, shall, where his mother is entitled to his custody whether solely or jointly with any person other than his father or step-father, be regarded as normally residing with his mother and with no other person, save that where the mother is not claiming or in receipt of benefit, assistance or pension and the father or step-father is contributing substantially to the child's support, the child shall be regarded as normally residing with his father or step-father as the case may be."

7. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the addition thereto of the following article:--

"14. In these Regulations--

"benefit" means any of the following benefits under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1977, unemployment benefit, disability benefit, invalidity pension, widow's (contributory) pension, deserted wife's benefit, retirement pension, old age (contributory) pension and injury benefit, death benefit, unemployability supplement and disablement pension while receiving approved hospital treatment (under the Social Welfare (Occupational Injuries) Act, 1966 );

"assistance" means unemployment assistance under the Unemployment Assistance Acts, 1933 to 1977, deserted wife's allowance or social assistance allowance for unmarried mothers under the Social Welfare Acts, 1952 to 1977;

"pension" means a pension under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1977, or widow's (non-contributory) pension under the Widows' and Orphans' Pensions Acts, 1935 to 1977."

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this

27th day of February, 1978.

CHARLES J. HAUGHEY,

Minister for Social Welfare.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations enable an increase of benefit, pension or assistance in respect of a qualified child not living with his father or step-father to be paid to the father or step-father where the child is living with or in the custody of his mother but where the father or step-father is contributing substantially to the child's support, provided that the mother is not claiming or in receipt of such payments.