Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

"Iris Oifigiúil" of 3rd January, 2012.

I, JOAN BURTON, Minister for Social Protection in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 1 (3) of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 (No. 9 of 2011), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 (Section 16(6)) (Commencement) Order 2011.

2. The 1st day of January 2012 is appointed as the day on which section 16 (6) of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 (No. 9 of 2011) comes into operation.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

22 December 2011.

JOAN BURTON,

Minister for Social Protection.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order provides for the commencement of section 16 (6) of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 , with effect from 1st January 2012. Section 16(6) of that Act makes a number of amendments to the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 in relation to references to schemes and programmes that had previously been administered by An Foras Áiseanna Saothair (FÁS).

This Order, together with a number of related Orders, enables the transfer of administrative responsibility for the employment and community services of FÁS and the associated FÁS resources to the Department of Social Protection.