S.I. No. 340/2000 -- Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 13) (Carers) Regulations, 2000.

S.I. No. 340/2000 -- Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 13) (Carers) Regulations, 2000. 2000 340

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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS.

S.I. No. 340 of 2000.

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED PAYMENTS PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT) (No. 13) (CARERS) REGULATIONS, 2000.

S.I. No. 340 of 2000.

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATED PAYMENTS PROVISIONS) (AMENDMENT) (No. 13) (CARERS) REGULATIONS, 2000.

The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 4 (as amended by section 11 of the Social Welfare Act, 2000 ( section 10 of the Social Welfare Act, 2000 ), 83 (as amended by section 35 of the Social Welfare Act, 1997 ( No. 10 of 1997 )), 117, 163(1) (as amended by sections 17 and 28 of the Social Welfare Act, 2000 ), 168B (inserted by section 11(1)(c) of the section 13 of the Social Welfare Act, 2000 ) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 (No. 27 of 1993) hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and construction.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 13) (Carers) Regulations, 2000.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations 1994 to 2000 shall be construed together as one and may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations, 1994 to 2000.

Commencement.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on 26 October, 2000.

Definitions.

3. In these Regulations “the Principal Regulations” means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 417 of 1994 ).

Carer's benefit.

4. Part II of the Principal Regulations is amended by the insertion after Chapter 3 of the following Chapter--

“CHAPTER 3A

Carer's Benefit

Interpretation.		35A. In this Chapter--
		‘carer’ means a carer as defined in section 82A;
		‘relevant person’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 82A;
		‘health insurance contract’ and ‘premium’ have the meaning assigned to them in section 2 of the Health Insurance Act, 1994 ( No. 16 of 1994 );
		‘institution’ means--
		(a) a hospital, convalescent home or home for persons suffering from physical or mental disability or accommodation ancillary thereto and any other similar establishment providing residence, maintenance or care for the persons therein, or
		(b) a private dwelling wherein a person is boarded out under an arrangement with a health board.
Conditions to be satisfied by non-resident carer.		35B. (1) Subject to sub-article (2) the conditions prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘carer’ contained in section 82A(1) are that--
		(a) a direct system of communication must exist between the carer's residence and that of the relevant person, and
		(b) the relevant person is not already receiving full-time care and attention within his or her own residence from a person other than the applicant.
		(2) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) a system of communication shall include a telephone or alarm system.
Prescribed manner for certification of disability.		35C. The prescribed manner for certification by a medical practitioner of the nature and extent of a relevant person's disability shall be in the form for the time being approved by the Minister.
Circumstances in which carer is to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention.		35D. A carer may, for the purposes of Chapter 11A of Part II, continue to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention to a relevant person where that carer:
		(a) would qualify for payment of benefit but for the fact that either the carer or the relevant person is undergoing medical or other treatment of a temporary nature in an institution of not longer than 13 weeks, or
		(b) the relevant person is attending--
		(i) a non-residential course of rehabilitation training provided by an organisation (being an organisation recognised by the Minister for Health and Children for the purposes of the provision of such training) or
		(ii) a non-residential place of day care approved by the Minister for Health and Children.
Conditions and circumstances under which a carer may engage in employment or self-employment.		35E. (1) Where it is shown to the satisfaction of a deciding officer or an appeals officer that adequate provision has been made for the care of the relevant person, a carer may engage in either--
		(a) employment subject to the conditions in sub-article (2), or
		(b) self-employment subject to the conditions in sub-article (3),
		but not both.
		(2) The conditions for the purposes of paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) are that the hours of employment do not exceed 10 hours per week and that any earnings, calculated in accordance with sub-article (4), derived from that employment do not exceed £75 per week.
		(3) The conditions for the purposes of paragraph (b) of sub-article (1) are that the amount of gross income derived from such self-employment, reduced by any expenses necessarily incurred, does not exceed £75 per week.
		(4) For the purposes of sub-article (2) the earnings shall be calculated as the gross earnings reduced by the aggregate of--
		(a) any allowable contribution referred to in Regulations 59 and 60 (inserted by the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations, 1972 ( S.I. No. 260 of 1972 )) of the Income Tax (Employment) Regulations, 1960 ( S.I. No. 28 of 1960 ),
		(b) any income tax payable under the provisions of the Income Tax Acts as defined in section 1 of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 ( No. 39 of 1997 ),
		(c) any contributions payable under section 10(1)(b) and Regulations made under section 11,
		(d) any contributions payable under section 5 (as amended by section 33 of the Social Welfare Act, 1999 ( the Health Contributions Act, 1979 (No. 4 of 1979) ,
		(e) any payment to an organisation registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies, under the Trade Union Act 1871 c 31.
		(f) any health insurance contract premium.
Respite care grant.		35F. A respite care grant shall be payable to a carer who is entitled to or in receipt of carer's benefit on the first Thursday in June of each year.
Medical examination and disqualification.		35G. (1) An officer of the Minister may, on giving not less than 3 days notice in writing, require a relevant person to submit himself or herself to medical or other examination at such time and place as may be specified in the notice.
		(2) Notice of the time and place of the examination referred to in sub-article (1) shall also be sent to the registered medical practitioner in attendance on the person required to submit himself or herself to such examination.
		(3) A carer shall be disqualified for receiving carer's benefit if and for so long as the person in respect of whose full-time care and attention the benefit is payable, fails without good cause to attend for or submit to the medical examination in accordance with this article:
		Provided that such disqualification shall commence not earlier than the day on which the failure occurs.”.

Amendment of principal regulations.

5. (1) The Principal Regulations are amended by--

(a) the substitution for article 9 of the following article:

“9. The Minister shall pay such reasonable and necessary travelling and other expenses, as he may determine, which are incurred by a person who is required to attend for medical or other examination under--

(a) article 15(2),

(b) article 24(1),

(d) article 85D(1) or

(e) the Rules of Behaviour set out in Schedule F.”,

(b) the substitution in paragraph (d) of article 19 (inserted by article 3 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 3) (Carers) Regulations, 2000 ( S.I. No. 106 of 2000 )) for “carer's allowance” of “carer's benefit or carer's allowance”,

(c) the substitution for paragraph (c) of article 67A (as substituted by article 4 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 13) (Treatment Benefit) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 530 of 1997 )) of the following paragraph:

“(c) a spouse who would be a qualified adult as so defined, but for the receipt by that spouse of carer's benefit under Chapter 11A of Part II, old age (non-contributory) pension under Chapter 4 of Part III or carer's allowance under Chapter 10 of Part III in his or her own right;”,

(d) the insertion in sub-article (5) of article 67D (as substituted by article 4 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 13) (Treatment Benefit) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 530 of 1997 )) after sub-paragraph (a) of the following sub-paragraph:

“(aa) carer's benefit under Chapter 11A of Part II,”,

(e) the insertion in paragraph (a) of article 96 after “orphan's pension,” of “carer's benefit,”,

(f) the substitution for article 100A (inserted by article 2 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 5) (Homemakers) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 293 of 1997 )) of the following article:

“100A. Other than in the case of a person who is entitled to or in receipt of Carer's Benefit under Part II, Carer's Allowance under Part III or Child Benefit under Part IV, an application to be regarded as a homemaker for the purposes of section 83(2) shall be made in the form for the time being approved by the Minister.”,

(g) the insertion in article 101 after sub-article (5) (inserted by article 2 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 293 of 1997 )) of the following sub-article:

“(6) Where a claim for carer's benefit is made by an employee, his or her employer shall, on being so required by an officer of the Minister, furnish to the Minister the following information relating to the employee--

(a) the number or hours worked by the employee in that employment in such periods as may be specified by the said officer, and

(b) any other relevant information that may be required by the said officer.”,

(h) the substitution in paragraph (b) of article 110(1) (as amended by article 9 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 10) (One-Parent Family Payment) Regulations, 1996 ( S.I. No. 426 of 1996 ) for “retirement pension,” of “carer's benefit, retirement pension,”, and

(i) the substitution in paragraph (a) of article 128(2) for “old age (contributory) pension,” for “carer's benefit, old age (contributory) pension,”.

(2) Article 102 (as amended by article 3 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 6) (Bereavement Grant and Homemakers) Regulations, 1999 ( S.I. No. 300 of 1999 )) is amended by--

(a) the deletion in paragraph (f) (as amended by article 6 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations, 1996 ( S.I. No. 189 of 1996 )) of “and”,

(b) the substitution in paragraph (g) (inserted by article 6 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulations, 1996 ( S.I. No. 189 of 1996 )) for “1996).” of “1996), and”, and

“(h) in the case of carer's benefit, the period commencing eight weeks before and ending eight weeks after the day on which, apart from satisfying the condition of making a claim, the claimant becomes entitled thereto.”.

Carer's allowance.

6. The Principal Regulations are amended by the substitution for article 85A (inserted by article 4 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 4) (Carers Allowance) Regulations, 1999 ( S.I. No. 256 of 1999 )) of the following articles:

“Conditions to be satisfied by non-resident carer.		85B. (1) Subject to the sub-article (2) the conditions prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘carer’ contained in section 163(1) are that--
		(a) a direct system of communication must exist between the carer's residence and that of the relevant person, and
		(b) the relevant person is not already receiving full-time care and attention within his or her own residence from a person other than the applicant.
		(2) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) a system of communication shall include a telephone or alarm system.
Prescribed manner for certification of disability.		85C. The prescribed manner for certification by a medical practitioner of the nature and extent of a relevant person's disability shall be in the form for the time being approved by the Minister.
Medical examination.		85D. (1) An officer of the Minister may, on giving not less than 3 days notice in writing, require a relevant person to submit himself or herself to medical or other examination at such time and place as may be specified in the notice.
		(2) Notice of the time and place of the examination referred to in sub-article (1) shall also be sent to the registered medical practitioner in attendance on the person required to submit himself or herself to such examination.
		(3) A carer shall be disqualified for receiving carer's allowance if and for so long as the relevant person fails without good cause to attend for or submit to the medical examination in accordance with this article:
		Provided that such disqualification shall commence not earlier than the day on which the failure occurs.”.

	GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs this 24th day of October, 2000.
	DERMOT AHERN,
	Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the making of the foregoing regulations.

	GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this 24th day of October, 2000.
	CHARLIE McCREEVY,
	Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This Note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

For the purposes of Carer's Benefit, these Regulations:

-- provide for the extension of existing claims and payments provisions to the Carer's Benefit scheme,

-- prescribe the circumstances in which a carer is to be regarded as providing full-time care and attention,

-- detail the conditions to be satisfied by a non-resident carer,

-- provide for medical examination of the care recipient, and for disqualification for benefit for failure to cooperate with this requirement.

The latter provision is also extended to care recipients for the purposes of Carer's Allowance.

The Regulations also amend the residency conditions which apply to a non-resident Carer in the case of Carer's Allowance by deleting the “close proximity” condition.

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Irish Statutory Instruments

S.I. No. 340/2000 -- Social Welfare (Consolidated Payments Provisions) (Amendment) (No. 13) (Carers) Regulations, 2000.