Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005

Number 4 of 2005

SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2005

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023

This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Act 2022 (52/2022), enacted 21 December 2022, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Planning And Development And Foreshore (Amendment) Act 2022 (Commencement) Order 2023 (S.I. No. 1 of 2023), made 9 January 2023, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

Number 4 of 2005

SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2005

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023

Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Pensions Acts 1990 to 2018: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Act 2018 (37/2018), s. 1(3)). The Acts in this group are:

• Pensions Act 1990 (25/1990)

• Pensions (Amendment) Act 1996 (18/1996)

• Pensions (Amendment) Act 2002 (18/2002)

• Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 (4/2003), s. 24

• Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 (9/2004), ss. 22 and 23

• Equality Act 2004 (24/2004), Part 4

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005 (4/2005), ss. 27-39

• Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Act 2006 (5/2006), ss. 38-44

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (8/2007), s. 37

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008 (2/2008), ss. 26-29

• Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 (22/2008), s. 24

• Social Welfare And Pensions Act 2009 (10/2009), Part 5

• Social Welfare And Pensions (No. 2) Act 2009 (43/2009), Part 3

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2010 (37/2010), Part 5

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 (9/2011), Part 4

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012 (12/2012), Part 3

• Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 (20/2013), Part 4

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2013 (38/2013), Part 4

• Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013 (49/2013), Part 3

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2014 (16/2014), Part 3

• Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2014 (41/2014), s. 4

• Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 (43/2015), s. 2

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2015 (47/2015), Part 3

• Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Act 2018 (37/2018), Part 3 (s. 27)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (26/2005)

All Acts up to and including Local Government (Maternity Protection and Other Measures for Members of Local Authorities) Act 2022 (52/2022), enacted 21 December 2022, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005 (Part 3) (Commencement) Order 2005 (S.I. No. 591 of 2005)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005 (Section 7 (1)) (Commencement) Order 2005 (S.I. No. 230 of 2005)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005 (Sections 38 & 39) (Commencement) Order 2005 (S.I. No. 187 of 2005)

• Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005 (Sections 16, 24, 25 and 26) (Commencement) Order 2005 (S.I. No. 182 of 2005)

All statutory instruments up to and including Planning And Development And Foreshore (Amendment) Act 2022 (Commencement) Order 2023 (S.I. No. 1 of 2023), made 9 January 2023, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Number 4 of 2005

SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2005

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART 1

Short Title, Construction, Collective Citation and Commencement

Section
1.	Short title, construction, collective citation and commencement.

PART 2

Amendments to the Social Welfare Acts

2.	Definitions (Part 2). (Repealed)
3.	Child benefit — new rates. (Repealed)
4.	Disability benefit. (Repealed)
5.	Injury benefit — removal of limit. (Repealed)
6.	Carer's benefit — improvement to entitlement conditions. (Repealed)
7.	Respite care grant — improvements to entitlement conditions. (Repealed)
8.	Disability allowance — extension of payment. (Repealed)
9.	Assessment of capital means for certain assistance payments. (Repealed)
10.	Certain EU payments — entitlement to island allowance. (Repealed)
11.	Amendments consequential on the alignment of the income tax year with the calendar year. (Repealed)
12.	Unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance — amendment to entitlement. (Repealed)
13.	Unemployment benefit, unemployment assistance and farm assist — amendment to disqualifications. (Repealed)
14.	Carer's benefit and carer's allowance — amendment. (Repealed)
15.	Personal public service number — extension of provisions. (Repealed)
16.	Award of bereavement grant and payments after death in certain cases. (Repealed)
17.	Provisions relating to prosecutions. (Repealed)
18.	Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act (interpretation). (Repealed)
19.	Orphan's (contributory) allowance and orphan's (non-contributory) pension — amendments. (Repealed)
20.	Assessment of means — amendments. (Repealed)
21.	Recovery of overpayments. (Repealed)
22.	Old age (contributory) pension — amendment to definition of “homemaker”. (Repealed)
23.	Amendments to Principal Act consequential on Health Act 2004. (Repealed)
24.	Third Schedule to Principal Act (Rules as to calculation of means). (Repealed)
25.	Amendments consequential on section 24. (Repealed)
26.	Pre-consolidation amendments to Principal Act. (Repealed)

PART 3

Amendments to the Pensions Act 1990

27.	Definitions (Part 3).
28.	Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act.
29.	Amendment of section 7A of Principal Act.
30.	Amendment of section 18 of Principal Act.
31.	Funding standard.
32.	Small scheme exemptions.
33.	Amendment of section 59 of Principal Act.
34.	Qualifications of trustees.
35.	Amendment of section 90 of Principal Act.
36.	Amendment to Part VI of Principal Act.
37.	Cross-border schemes.
38.	Amendment of section 111 of Principal Act.
39.	Amendment of section 113 of Principal Act.

SCHEDULE 1

Amendments to Principal Act Consequential on the Health Act 2004

(Repealed)

SCHEDULE 2

Third Schedule — Rules as to Calculation of Means

(Repealed)

SCHEDULE 3

Amendments Consequential on Substitution of Third Schedule of Principal Act

(Repealed)

SCHEDULE 4

Pre-Consolidation Amendments

(Repealed)

SCHEDULE 5

Ninth Schedule — Specified Bodies

(Repealed)

Acts Referred to
Army Pensions Acts 1923 to 1980
Bankruptcy Act 1988	1988, No. 27
Blind Persons Act 1920	1920, c.49
Child Care Act 1991	1991, No. 17
Civil Liability (Amendment) Act 1964	1964, No. 17
Companies Act 1990	1990, No. 33
Connaught Rangers (Pensions) Acts 1936 to 1964
Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001	2001, No. 50
Education Act 1998	1998, No. 51
Finance Act 1921	11 & 12 Geo. 5, c.32
Finance Act 1958	1958, No. 25
Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959	1959, No. 14
Health (Nursing Homes) Act 1990	1990, No. 23
Health Act 1970	1970, No. 1
Health Act 2004	2004, No. 42
Health Contributions Act 1979	1979, No. 4
Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997	1997, No. 21
Income Tax Act 1967	1967, No. 6
Industrial Training Act 1967	1967, No. 5
Larceny Act 1916	6 & 7 Geo. 5, c.50
Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts 1968 to 1992
Local Government Act 2001	2001, No. 37
Mental Health Act 2001	2001, No. 25
Mental Health Acts 1945 to 2001
Mental Treatment Act 1945	1945, No. 19
Mental Treatment Acts 1945 to 1966
Military Service (Pensions) Acts 1924 to 1964
National Council for Education Awards Act 1979	1979, No. 30
Pensions (Amendment) Act 1996	1996, No. 18
Pensions (Amendment) Act 2002	2002, No. 18
Pensions Act 1990	1990, No. 25
Pensions Acts 1990 to 2004
Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999	1999, No. 26
Regional Technical Colleges Acts 1992 to 2001
Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993	1993, No. 27
Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002	2002, No. 8
Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003	2003, No. 4
Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004	2004, No. 9
Social Welfare (No. 2) Act 1993	1993, No. 32
Social Welfare Act 1992	1992, No. 5
Social Welfare Act 1993	1993, No. 5
Social Welfare Act 1996	1996, No. 7
Social Welfare Act 1997	1997, No. 10
Social Welfare Act 1998	1998, No. 6
Social Welfare Act 1999	1999, No. 3
Social Welfare Act 2000	2000, No. 4
Social Welfare Act 2001	2001, No. 5
Social Welfare Acts
Taxes Consolidation Act 1997	1997, No. 39
Universities Acts 1997 and 1999
Vocational Education Act 1930	1930, No. 29

Number 4 of 2005

SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2005

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS AND, FOR THE PURPOSE OF GIVING EFFECT TO DIRECTIVE 2003/41/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL¹AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE PENSIONS ACT 1990. [14th March, 2005]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Revised Acts

Latest News and Publications

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005