department of social and family affairs annual report 2006 - Welfare.ie

APPENDIX 4: LEGISLATION ENACTED
IN 2006
The Act also provides for a number of
amendments to the Pensions Act 1990 in relation
to Occupational Pensions.
Legislation Enacted in 2006
The Department’s Legislation Programme for
2006 encompassed the enactment of two pieces
of primary legislation, that is:
This Act further contains provision for
amendments to a number of other Acts, including
the Carer’s Leave Act, the Freedom of Information
Act, the Taxes Consolidation Act and the Combat
Poverty Agency Act.
- the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act
2006, and
- the Social Welfare Act 2006.
SOCIAL WELFARE ACT 2006
(No. 36 of 2006 enacted 19 December 2006)
appendices
The Programme also entailed the promulgation of
26 Statutory Instruments.
Details of the primary and secondary legislation
are as follows:
SOCIAL WELFARE LAW REFORM AND PENSIONS
ACT 2006
(No. 8 of 2006 enacted 24 March 2006)
This Act provides for a number of measures
announced in Budget 2006, including increases
in Child Benefit and the Respite Care Grant,
raising the income threshold for the One-Parent
Family Payment, the extension of the duration of
Carer’s Benefit, and an improvement in the means
test applicable to the Supplementary Welfare
Allowance scheme.
It also provides for the establishment of a
standard non-contributory support payment for
persons aged over 66 years - the State Pension
(Non-Contributory) and the automatic transfer
to Old Age (Contributory) Pension for recipients
of Invalidity Pension or Retirement Pension on
reaching age 66. The Act further provides for
the amendment of the titles of some schemes
operated under social welfare legislation, and for
a number of amendments to the Social Welfare
Consolidation Act 2005.
The Act contains the legislative basis for the
payment of the Early Childcare Supplement as
announced in Budget 2006, and to exempt this
payment from assessment as taxable income.
The Act provides for the Budget 2007 increases
in the rates of social insurance and social
assistance payments and improvements in Family
Income Supplement, Maternity and Adoptive
Benefit, Death Benefit Funeral Expenses Grant,
Bereavement Grant, Widowed Parent Grant,
State Pension (Non-Contributory) and Disability
Allowance schemes.
It also provides for raising the weekly earnings limit
at which PRSI becomes payable, an increase in the
income ceiling above which PRSI contributions are
not payable by employed or optional contributors,
as announced in the Budget, in addition to changes
to the Health Contributions Act 1979 to provide
for an increase in the amount of contributions
payable for earnings over a certain threshold. It also
provides for an increase in the weekly and annual
exemption thresholds for the Health Contribution
Levy.
S.I. 70 of 2006
OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES
(REVALUATION) REGULATIONS, 2006
Section 33 of the Pensions Act, 1990 (as amended
by Section 21 of the Pensions (Amendment) Act,
2002), provides that the Minister for Social and
Family Affairs, after consultation with the Minister
for Finance, shall, in respect of each revaluation year,
make Regulations specifying the percentage which
shall determine the amount by which the preserved
benefit is to be increased by in that year.
This Regulation provides for a revaluation
percentage of 2.5% for 2005.
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