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32 1993

SOCIAL WELFARE (NO. 2) ACT, 1993

PART III

Miscellaneous Amendments

Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act (definitions).

11. —Section 2 (1) (as amended by section 3 ) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the insertion after the definition of “deciding officer” of the following definition:

“‘developing country’ means any country which the Minister, having regard to the countries so designated by the United Nations, the World Bank or the International Labour Organisation as developing countries and after consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, may determine, for the purposes of this Act, to be a developing country;”,

(b) the insertion after the definition of “the Minister” of the following definition:

“‘non-governmental agency’ means any organisation which has as one of its functions the promotion of relief and development in developing countries through the sponsoring or aiding of projects involving the employment of volunteer development workers in those countries;”,

and

(c) the insertion after the definition of “voluntary contributor” of the following definition:

“‘volunteer development worker’ means a person who is employed temporarily outside the State in a developing country and has secured such employment either—

(a) by or through the organisation known as the Agency for Personal Services Overseas or by or through a non-governmental agency in the State, or

(b) by or through a governmental or non-governmental agency in any Member State other than the State, or

(c) directly with the government of a developing country,

and who is employed by any of the aforesaid agencies or by the government of the developing country or by both under conditions of remuneration similar to local conditions applying in the said country and who was resident in the State immediately prior to taking up such employment;”.

Qualifying conditions for disability benefit (volunteer development workers).

12. —Section 32 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (8) of the following subsection:

“(9) The requirement contained in subsection (1) (c) that the claimant must have prescribed reckonable weekly earnings in excess of a prescribed amount in the prescribed period shall not apply in the case of a claim for disability benefit made by a person in the benefit year in which that person, having been a volunteer development worker, returns to the State from a developing country or in the next succeeding benefit year.”.

Qualifying conditions for unemployment benefit (volunteer development workers).

13. —Section 43 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after subsection (6) of the following subsection:

“(7) The requirement contained in subsection (1) (c) that the claimant must have prescribed reckonable weekly earnings in excess of a prescribed amount in the prescribed period shall not apply in the case of a claim for unemployment benefit made by a person in the benefit year in which that person, having been a volunteer development worker, returns to the State from a developing country or in the next succeeding benefit year.”.

Records to be maintained.

14. —The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after section 215 of the following section:

“Records to be maintained.

215A.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, the Minister may by regulations require—

(a) an employer or any other person to maintain such records as may be prescribed of any person in his employment and of any person engaged by him under a contract for service to perform a service, or

(b) a person engaged under a contract for service to perform a service to maintain such records as may be prescribed of any person engaged to perform that service either with him or on his behalf whether under a contract for service or under any other arrangements made or to be made by him.

(2) Records required to be maintained under subsection (1) shall be held at such place and for such period as may be prescribed.

(3) A person who fails to comply with this section shall be guilty of an offence.”.