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17 1948

SOCIAL WELFARE ACT, 1948

Chapter II.

Amendments of the Acts operative as from the 7th day of January, 1949.

Increase of rates of pensions.

9. —A pension shall, subject ot section 13 of this Act, be at the rate set forth in the Table to this section in lieu of the rate fixed by section 2 of, and the First Schedule to, the Act of 1924, as amended by section 2 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1928 (No. 1 of 1928)

Table to Section 9.

Rate of Pension.

Means of Claimant or Pensioner

Rate of pension per week

Where the yearly means of the claimant or pensioner as calculated under the Acts as amended by this Act—

s.

d.

do not exceed £15 12s. 6d.

17

6

exceed

£15 12s. 6d.

but do not exceed

£22   2s. 6d.

15

0

£22   2s. 6d.

£28 12s. 6d.

12

6

£28 12s. 6d.

£35   2s. 6d.

10

0

£35   2s. 6d.

£41 12s. 6d.

7

6

£41 12s. 6d.

£52   5s. 0d.

5

0

£52   5s. 0d.

No pension

Amendment of section 8 of the Act of 1924.

10. —In subsection (1) of section 8 of the Act of 1924, the words “fifty-two pounds five shillings” shall be substituted for the words “thirty-nine pounds five shillings”.

Payments under section 44 of the Health Act, 1947, not to be taken into account when calculating means.

11. —In calculating, for the purposes of the Acts, as amended by this Chapter, the means of any person no account shall be taken of any payments made, under section 44 of the Health Act, 1947 (No. 28 of 1947), by a health authority to or in respect of that person or his dependants.

Lowering to 21 years of qualifying age for blind pensions and other provisions in relation to blind pensions.

12. —(1) Section 6 (which provides for the payment of pensions to blind persons aged thirty years or upwards) of the Act of 1932 is hereby amended in the following respects:—

(a) the words “person who has attained the age of twenty-one years” shall be substituted for the words “person who has attained the age of thirty years” wherever the latter words occur,

(b) in paragraph (c) the words “ten years” shall be substituted for the words “eighteen years”.

(2) (a) In calculating the income, mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 2 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1911, of a blind person, no account shall be taken of the earnings of that person except, and in so far as, the annual amount of such earnings is calculated to exceed an amount made up as follows:—

(i) if that person is a man, £52, plus £39 if he has a wife, plus £26 for each child,

(ii) if that person is a woman, £52, plus £26 for each child, plus £39 if she has a husband living with her who is prevented by physical or mental infirmity from supporting himself;

(b) In this subsection—

the word “earnings” includes wages, profit from any form of self-employment in a trade or business (including farming), unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance; the word “child” means, in relation to a blind person, any child of that blind person or his wife or her husband who is under the age of sixteen years.

(3) In calculating, for the purposes of the Acts, as amended by this Chapter, the means of a blind person who is being paid an allowance or grant in pursuance of a scheme for promoting the welfare of the blind prepared under section 2 of the Blind Persons Act, 1920, no account shall be taken of such grant or allowance.

(4) Where a person, who was in receipt of a pension under section 6 of the Act of 1932 on the 6th day of January, 1949, raises a question for an increase of pension and notice of the question is received by the pension officer concerned not later than the 1st day of July, 1949, the notice shall, for the purpose of section 6 of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1919, be deemed to have been received by the pension officer on the 7th day of January, 1949.

Saving for certain existing pensioners.

13. —(1) No person, who was, immediately before the 7th day of January, 1949, in receipt of a pension and a supplement thereto under the Order of 1947, shall, if he continues to be entitled to such pension after the 6th day of January, 1949, receive less by way of pension than he would have received if this Act had not been passed and the Order of 1947 had continued in force.

(2) (a) In this subsection, the expression “the standard weekly rate” means, in relation to a pension, the rate at which such pension would for the time being be payable under the Acts, as amended by this Chapter, if subsection (1) of this section had not been enacted.

(b) Where, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, a person is, on or after the 7th day of January, 1949, in receipt of a pension at a weekly rate higher than the standard weekly rate, the pension officer concerned shall from time to time review such pension and on any such review make such adjustments (if any) in the weekly rate thereof as would be appropriate if this Act had not been passed and the Order of 1947 had continued in force, but shall not so adjust such pension that it becomes payable at a weekly rate lower than the standard weekly rate.

(c) Where any pension is adjusted under this subsection, such pension shall thereupon, but subject to any further adjustment, become payable at the weekly rate to which it is so adjusted.