Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007


Number 8 of 2007


SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2007

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023


This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the 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 8 of 2007


SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2007

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 and Pensions Act 2008 (2/2008)

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 2007 (Section 14) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 749 of 2007)

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 9) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 702 of 2007)

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Sections 21 and 24) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 699 of 2007)

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 37) (Commencement) (No. 2) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 632 of 2007)

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 34) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 268 of 2007)

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Sections 18, 20, 25(1), 35 and 36) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 256 of 2007)

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Sections 5, 8, 22, 23 and 28) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 219 of 2007)

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 37) (Commencement) Order, 2007 (S.I. No. 181 of 2007)

Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2007 (Section 35) (Commencement) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 146 of 2007)

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 8 of 2007


SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2007

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART 1

Preliminary and General

Section

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

2. Definitions.

PART 2

Amendments to Social Welfare Acts

3. Amendment to definition of volunteer development worker.

4. Child benefit — new rates.

5. Illness benefit — improvements.

6. Maternity benefit — improvements.

7. Adoptive benefit — improvements.

8. Jobseeker’s benefit — improvement.

9. Jobseeker’s allowance, pre-retirement allowance, disability allowance and farm assist — amendments to means provisions.

10. Cost of medical care — amendments.

11. Disqualifications from injury benefit or disablement benefit — amendment.

12. Carer’s benefit — entitlement to benefit.

13. State pension (contributory) — amendment.

14. Qualified adult increase — direct payment.

15. Entitlement for invalidity pension recipients — amendment.

16. Invalidity pension — amendment to entitlement to pension.

17. Guardian’s payment (contributory) and guardian’s payment (non-contributory) — amendments.

18. Bereavement grant — improvements.

19. Widowed parent grant — amendment.

20. Jobseeker’s allowance — improvement.

21. Pre-retirement allowance — amendments.

22. One-parent family payment — increase in earnings limit.

23. Relevant payments — conditions for receipt.

24. Payment of carer’s allowance in certain circumstances.

25. Supplementary welfare allowance — amendments.

26. Disability allowance — amendment to disqualification.

27. Child benefit — amendment.

28. Respite care grant — increase in grant and amendments.

29. Payments — amendment.

30. Habitual residence condition — amendment.

31. Disclosure of certain information.

32. Personal public service number — amendments.

33. Budgeting in relation to social welfare payments — amendment.

34. Appointment of deciding officers — amendment.

35. Schedule 3 — amendments.

36. Supplementary welfare allowance — calculation of means amendments.

PART 3

Amendments to Pensions Act 1990

37. Amendments to Pensions Act 1990.

PART 4

Miscellaneous Amendments to other Acts

38. Amendment to Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

39. Attendance before Public Accounts Committee — amendments to other Acts.

SCHEDULE 1 (Repealed)

Amendments to Supplementary Welfare Allowance

SCHEDULE 2

Amendments to Pensions Act 1990

PART 1

Amendments relating to Trust Retirement Annuity Contracts

PART 2

Amendments relating to Fines and Penalties

PART 3

Miscellaneous Amendments

SCHEDULE 3

Attendance before Public Accounts Committee

PART 1

Amendment to Combat Poverty Agency Act 1986

PART 2

Amendment to Family Support Agency Act 2001



Number 8 of 2007


SOCIAL WELFARE AND PENSIONS ACT 2007

REVISED

Updated to 9 January 2023


AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE SOCIAL WELFARE ACTS, THE PENSIONS ACT 1990, THE COMBAT POVERTY AGENCY ACT 1986, THE TAXES CONSOLIDATION ACT 1997 AND THE FAMILY SUPPORT AGENCY ACT 2001.

[30th March, 2007]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS: