S.I. No. 374/1977:

THE SOCIAL WELFARE (ALTERATION OF RATES OF CONTRIBUTIONS) REGULATIONS, 1977.

THE SOCIAL WELFARE (ALTERATION OF RATES OF CONTRIBUTIONS) REGULATIONS, 1977.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 and subsection (9) of section 6 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952), hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Alteration of Rates of Contributions) Regulations, 1977.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 2nd day of January, 1978.

3. In these Regulations--

"the Act of 1967" means the Income Tax Act, 1967 (No. 6 of 1967), and "remuneration" means pecuniary emoluments of an employed contributor which are chargeable to income tax under the provisions of the Act of 1967 reduced by the amount of any contribution to a superannuation fund or scheme payable by the employed contributor and deductible by the employer from the employed contributor's emoluments, where such contribution is allowable by virtue of section 222 or 233 of the Act of 1967 or by virtue of section 16 , 17 or 25 of the Finance Act, 1972 (No. 19 of 1972) as a deduction from such emoluments for the purposes of assessment under the Act of 1967.

4. These Regulations shall apply in relation to the employment contributions payable by employed contributors at the rates specified in paragraphs 1 (a), 2 (a), 2A (a), 3 (a), 3A (a), 6 (a), 7 (a), or 8 (a) of the Second Schedule to the Social Welfare Act, 1952 .

5. The rates of employment contributions in relation to which these Regulations apply shall be reduced by £1.00 where the contribution is payable in respect of a period of employment

( a ) for which the remuneration payable is less than £50 a week,

or

( b ) for which no remuneration is payable.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this

12th day of December, 1977.

CHARLES J. HAUGHEY,

Minister for Social Welfare.

In accordance with section 6 (9) of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 , a draft, sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, of these Regulations was laid before, and approved by each House of the Oireachtas. The necessary Resolutions were passed by Dáil Éireann on 17 November, 1977 and by Seanad Éireann on 8 December, 1977.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations reduce by £1 a week the employee's element of the social insurance contribution in the case of workers whose earnings as defined in the Regulations are less than £50 a week. The reduction is effective from 2 January, 1978 and applies to all employed contributors with the exception of permanent and pensionable employees in the public sector who are insured for limited benefits, mainly widows' and orphans' pensions and deserted wife's benefit.