46.— (1) The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may, for the purpose of the relief of undue hardship, make regulations in relation to the carrying out of financial assessments consistent with this Act.

(2) The power to make regulations under this section includes the power to provide that the income or assets (or a specified part of such income or assets) of one member of a couple be disregarded in the carrying out of a financial assessment in connection with an application for State support by the other member of the couple where exceptional circumstances specified in the regulations are shown to exist to the satisfaction of the Executive or the person requested pursuant to section 10 to carry out the financial assessment.

(3) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid by the Minister before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.