S.I. No. 127/1963:

SOCIAL WELFARE (ASSISTANCE DECISIONS AND APPEALS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1963.

SOCIAL WELFARE (ASSISTANCE DECISIONS AND APPEALS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1963.

I, CAOIMHGHÍN Ó BEOLÁIN, Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 3 , 84 , 101 and 121 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952) and paragraph (k) of section 5 of the Social Welfare (Children's Allowances) Act, 1952 (No. 12 of 1952), hereby make the following Regulations :

1.--(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Assistance Decisions and Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations, 1963.

(2) The Social Welfare (Assistance Decisions and Appeals) Regulations, 1953 ( S.I. No. 9 of 1953 ), the Social Welfare (Assistance Decisions and Appeals) (No. 2) Regulations, 1953 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1953 ) and these Regulations may be cited collectively as the Social Welfare (Assistance Decisions and Appeals) Regulations, 1953 to 1963.

2. In these Regulations "the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Assistance Decisions and Appeals) Regulations, 1953 ( S.I. No. 9 of 1953 ).

3. Article 4 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the addition after sub-article (3) (inserted by the Social Welfare (Assistance Decisions and Appeals) (No. 2) Regulations, 1953) of the following sub-article :

"(4) The provisions of sub-articles (1) and (2) of article 10 of the Social Welfare (General Benefit) Regulations, 1953 ( S.I. No. 16 of 1953 ) as amended by article 2 of the Social Welfare (General Benefit) (Amendment) Regulations, 1963 ( S.I. No. 126 of 1963 ) modified in the manner appearing in article 10B of these Regulations shall apply to assistance."

4. Part III of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended by the addition after article 10A (inserted by the Social Welfare (Assistance Decisions and Appeals) (No. 2) Regulations, 1953 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1953 )) of the following article :

" 10B. Where, in accordance with the provisions of the Acts,--

(a) a decision is varied or reversed by a deciding officer, a local pension committee or an appeals officer so as to disallow or reduce assistance paid or payable to a person, and

(b) the revised decision is given owing to the original decision having been given, or having continued in effect, by reason of any statement or representation (whether written or oral) which was to the knowledge of the person making it false or misleading in a material respect or by reason of the wilful concealment of any material fact,

any assistance repayable in pursuance of the revised decision may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery and in addition to the existing powers of recovery under the Acts, be recovered by deduction from any one or more of the following, that is to say, benefit within the meaning of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (except maternity benefit or an orphan's (contributory) allowance) or any assistance (except a children's allowance or an orphan's (non-contributory) pension) to which such person then is or becomes entitled."

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 16th day of July, 1963.

CAOIMHGHÍN Ó BEOLÁIN,

Minister for Social Welfare.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations relate to the recovery of overpayments of social assistance fraudulently obtained and complement the Social Welfare (General Benefit) (Amendment) Regulations, 1963 ( S.I. No. 126 of 1963 ) which deal with similar overpayments of benefit. Under the present regulations such overpayments of certain kinds of social assistance may now be recovered from certain other kinds of assistance and benefit.