S.I. No. 85/1971:

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONTRIBUTIONS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1971.

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONTRIBUTIONS) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1971.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 3 , 7 and 8 of the Social Welfare Act, 1952 (No. 11 of 1952), hereby makes the following Regulations--

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Contributions) (Amendment) Regulations, 1971.

(2) The Social Welfare (Contributions) Regulations, 1953 to 1970, and these Regulations may be cited collectively as the Social Welfare (Contributions) Regulations, 1953 to 1971.

2. In these Regulations--

"the Principal Regulations" means the Social Welfare (Contributions) Regulations, 1953 ( S.I. No. 5 of 1953 ).

3. The Principal Regulations are hereby amended by the insertion after article 10D (inserted by the Social Welfare (Contributions) (Amendment) Regulations, 1969, ( S.I. No. 192 of 1969 )) of the following article--

"10E--(1) Subject to the provisions of these Regulations, an employment contribution shall be credited to an insured person in respect of any contribution week for which an employment contribution, other than a contribution under sub-section 2 of section 36 of the Act of 1966, payable by an employer on behalf of an insured person, is not paid and the failure to make payment thereof is shown to the satisfaction of the minister not to have been with the consent or connivance of, or attributable to any negligence on the part of, that insured person.

(2) An employment contribution credited under the provisions of this article to an insured person in respect of any contribution week shall be reckonable only for the purposes of

(a) article 5 of these Regulations in relation to widow's (contributory) pension and

(b) satisfying the contribution conditions for widow's (contributory) pension where the employment contribution payable in respect of the insured person in respect of that week was payable under paragraph 4 or paragraph 5 of the Second Schedule to the Act (inserted therein by the Social Welfare (Modification of Insurance) Regulations, 1956).

(3) Where an employment contribution is paid in respect of an insured person in respect of a contribution week for which an employment contribution has been credited under the provisions of this article then, as regards the right to any benefit, the paid contribution only shall, as from the date of payment, be reckoned.

(4) An employment contribution credited to an insured person under the provisions of this article may be treated as having been credited on the due date but shall not be reckonable for the purpose of payment of any benefit in respect of any period prior to the coming into operation of the said article."

4. Article 14 of the Principal Regulations is hereby amended as follows:

(1) by the insertion after sub-article (1) (A) thereof (inserted by the Social Welfare (Contribution) (Amendment) Regulations, 1957 ( S.I. No. 15 of 1957 )) of the following sub-article--

"(1) (B) Where an employment contribution is paid after the due date the Minister may treat such contribution as having been paid on the due date where the delay in making payment thereof is shown to the satisfaction of the Minister not to have been with the consent or connivance of, or attributable to any negligence on the part of the insured person in respect of whom it is paid".

(2) by deleting paragraph (b) of sub-article (2) and substituting the following:--

"(b) if paid during the said benefit year--as not paid in relation to the right to either of the said benefits in respect of any day before the date of payment thereof."

(3) by deleting sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of sub-article (5) and substituting the following:--

"(ii) if paid during the said benefit year--as not paid in relation to the right to the said benefit on or in respect of any day before the date of payment thereof."

(4) by deleting the words "the expiration of twenty-eight days after" in paragraph (a) of sub-article (6).

(5) by deleting the words "the expiration of twenty-eight days after" in paragraph (a) of sub-article (6)(A) (inserted by article 11 of the Social Welfare (Contribution) (Amendment) Regulations, 1970, ( S.I. No. 222 of 1970 )).

(6) by deleting sub-article (8) and substituting the following sub-article therefor--

"(8) In determining the date of payment of a contribution for the purposes of sub-articles (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this article a contribution shall not be treated as having been paid by or in respect of an employed contributor whose contributions are payable by means of affixing or impressing stamps to or on insurance cards until an insurance card to or on which a stamp in respect of that contribution has been duly affixed or impressed has been surrendered to the Minister unless the Minister is satisfied that there was good cause for the delay in surrendering the insurance card, in which case the contribution may be treated as having been paid on an earlier date not being earlier than the due date."

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this 8th day of March 1971.

JOSEPH BRENNAN,

Minister for Social Welfare.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The effect of these Regulations is to enable credited employment contributions in certain circumstances to be granted to an insured person whose employer has failed to pay employment contributions in respect of him. The Regulations also enable employment contributions, which have been paid after the prescribed time, to be deemed to have been paid on the due dates.