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

appendices
These Regulations retain the income disregard,
for recipients of Disability Allowance and Blind
Pension, of €120 per week for earnings of a
rehabilitative nature, and introduce a new
withdrawal rate thereafter of 50% up to an upper
maximum earnings limit of €50.00 per week.
S.I. No. 246 of 2006
SOCIAL WELFARE LAW REFORM AND PENSIONS
ACT 2006 (SECTIONS 4(4), 4(5), 31 and 33)
(COMMENCEMENT) ORDER 2006
This Order provides for the commencement of
Sections 4(4), 4(5), 31 and 33 of the Social Welfare
Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006.
Section 4 of the Act provides for amending
the titles of certain social welfare payments to
make the social welfare system more accessible
to its customers and to reflect the purposes of
the schemes. Sections 4(4) and 4(5) provide for
changing the title of the Orphan’s (Contributory)
Allowance and Orphan’s (Non‐Contributory)
Pension to Guardian’s Payment (Contributory)
and Guardian’s Payment (Non‐Contributory)
respectively.
Section 31 provides for the disregard of the
amount of any contributions to Personal
Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) for the
purposes of the income thresholds applicable to
the Family Income Supplement Scheme.
Section 33 provides for amendments to the
definitions contained in Schedule 3 to the
Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, which
contains the Rules which are applied in assessing
means for the purposes of certain social welfare
schemes. The Section further provides for the
exclusion of certain payments, including the Early
Childcare Supplement, the Home Tuition Scheme
and the Home Care Grant, from the means test. It
also provides for the disregard of the amount of
any contributions to PRSA for the purposes of the
means‐tested schemes.
S.I. No. 288 of 2006
SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED PAYMENTS
PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT)(No. 8) (CARERS AND
HOMEMAKERS) REGULATIONS 2006
For the purposes of Carer’s Benefit, Carer’s
Allowance and Respite Care Grant, Social Welfare
legislation currently provides that a carer, who
has made appropriate care arrangements, may
engage in employment and for Respite Care Grant
purposes, self‐employment, for a maximum of
10 hours per week and still be considered to be
providing full‐time care and attention to the care
recipient.
These Regulations amend the legislation to
provide that the care‐giver may engage, outside
the home, in employment, self‐employment
or participate in training or education courses
approved by the Minister, for an aggregated
maximum of 15 hours per week.
These Regulations also provide for the extension
of the time limit within which an application to
become a homemaker for the purposes of Old
Age (Contributory) Pension may be made. The
new registration deadline for an applicant who
commenced homemaking during the period 6
April 1994 to 31 December 2006, is 31 December
2007.
S.I. 291 of 2006
SOCIAL WELFARE LAW REFORM AND PENSIONS
ACT 2006 ( PART 3) (COMMENCEMENT) ORDER,
2006
The order provides for the commencement,
with effect from 24 May 2006 of the following
provisions of Part 3 of the Social Welfare Law
Reform and Pensions Act 2006 –
• Section 38 which provides for the definitions
used in Part 3 of the Act
• Section 41 amends part IV of the Pensions Act
to provide that in the case of an occupational
pensions scheme, which provides increases
in pensions linked to an index, the actuary to
the scheme may assume a fixed rate increase
will apply when calculating the liabilities of
the scheme for the purposes of the funding
standard or in calculating the liabilities of a
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