First Previous (CHAPTER 2 Disability Benefit) Next (CHAPTER 4 Unemployment Benefit)

1 1981

SOCIAL WELFARE (CONSOLIDATION) ACT, 1981

CHAPTER 3

Maternity Allowance

Title to and duration of allowance.

24. —(1) Subject to this Act, a woman shall be entitled to a maternity allowance if—

[1952, s. 20]

(a) it is certified by a registered medical practitioner or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Minister that it is to be expected that she will be confined in a week specified in the certificate (hereafter in this section referred to as the expected week of confinement), not being more than the prescribed number of weeks after that in which the certificate is given, and

(b) she satisfies the contribution conditions in section 25 .

[1979, s. 23]

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the period for which a maternity allowance is payable shall be the period of 12 weeks beginning with the 6th week before the end of the expected week of confinement, but—

(a) if the woman who is entitled to the allowance dies, the allowance shall not be payable for any subsequent week,

(b) if the date of the confinement occurs after the expected week of confinement, the allowance shall, subject to paragraph (a) be payable until the expiration of the 6th week after the week in which that date occurs.

(3) Regulations may modify subsections (1) and (2) in relation to cases where—

(a) it is certified by a registered medical practitioner or otherwise to the satisfaction of the Minister that a woman has been confined, and

(b) no such certificate as is referred to in subsection (1) (a) has been given.

[1974 (No. 2), s. 17]

(4) For the purposes of this section, a Sunday shall not in any week be treated as a day of entitlement to a maternity allowance and, accordingly, the amount payable by way of such allowance for any other day of a week shall be one-sixth of the appropriate weekly rate.

Conditions for receipt.

[1952, Sch. 4; 1960 MP, s. 15; 1972, s. 14; 1978 AM, s. 13]

25. —(1) The contribution conditions for maternity allowance are—

(a) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 26 contribution weeks in the period beginning with her entry into insurance and ending immediately before the relevant time, and

(b) that the claimant has qualifying contributions or credited contributions in respect of not less than 26 contribution weeks in the last complete contribution year before the beginning of the benefit year in which the relevant time occurs or in a subsequent complete contribution year before the relevant time.

In this subsection “relevant time” means the date of commencement of the 6th week before the end of the expected week of confinement.

[1952, s. 14]

(2) Regulations may provide for modifications of these contribution conditions but, where such regulations are proposed to be made, a draft thereof shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

Rate of allowance.

[1952, s. 14]

26. —Subject to this Act, the weekly rate of maternity allowance shall be as set out in column (2) of Part I of the Second Schedule .

Disqualifications.

[1952, s. 20 (4)]

27. —Regulations may provide for disqualifying a woman for receiving a maternity allowance if—

(a) during the period for which the allowance is payable, she engages in any occupation other than domestic duties in her own household, or

(b) she fails, without good cause, to attend for or to submit herself to any medical examination that may be required in accordance with the regulations.

Supplementary provisions.

[1952, s. 21]

28. —(1) For the purposes of this Chapter—

(a) “confinement” means labour resulting in the issue of a living child, or labour after 28 weeks of pregnancy resulting in the issue of a child whether alive or dead, and “confined” shall be construed accordingly,

(b) references to the date of the confinement shall be taken as referring, where labour begun on one day results in the issue of a child on another day, to the date of the issue of the child or, if a woman is confined of twins or a greater number of children, to the date of the issue of the last of them.

(2) In deciding whether or not he shall make an order under the Illegitimate Children (Affiliation Orders) Act, 1930 , for the payment of the expenses incidental to the birth of a child, the Justice shall not take into consideration the fact that the mother of the child is entitled to maternity allowance.