S.I. No. 186/1983 - Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1983.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1983.

(2) The Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1982 (

S.I. No. 220 of 1982

) and these Regulations may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1982 and 1983.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 29th day of June, 1983.

3. The Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1982 (

S.I. No. 220 of 1982

) are hereby amended by—

(

a

) the substitution in article 5 (2) of "£79" for "£70" and "£45" for "£40";

(

b

) the substitution in article 5 (3) (

a

) of "£79" for "£70" and "£89" for "£80" in each case in which the said sum appears;

(

c

) the substitution in article 5 (3) (

b

) of "£45" for "£40" and "£50" for "£45" in each case in which the said sum appears;

(

d

) the substitution in article 6 (5) of "£7.20" for "£6.55", "£8.20" for "£7.45", "£6.40" for "£5.80" and "£5.10" for "£4.65";

(

e

) the substitution for subsections (2), (3) and (4) of section 116 of the Act of 1981 as set out in the Schedule of the following subsections

"(2) A prosecution for a summary offence under section 231 of this Act as applied under

section 23

of the

Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act, 1982

may be brought at the suit of the Minister.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) or any provision in any Act specifying the period within which proceedings may be commenced, a prosecution for an offence under section 231 of this Act as applied under

section 23

of the

Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act, 1982

may be brought at any time within whichever of the following periods later expires—

(

a

) the period of six months commencing on the date certified in writing sealed with the official seal of the Minister to be the date on which evidence sufficient to justify the institution of that prosecution came into his possession, or

(

b

) the period of two years commencing on the date on which the offence was committed.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), a certificate, sealed with the official seal of the Minister, as to the date on which such evidence as aforesaid came into his possession shall be sufficient evidence thereof until the contrary is shown."

4. Notwithstanding article 6 of these Regulations where—

(

a

) an allowance under these Regulations is in course of payment to or in respect of a person, and

(

b

) a payment of benefit, allowance, pension or assistance under Part II or Part III of the

Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981

, subsection (3) of

section 44

of the

Health Act, 1947

(No. 28 of 1947) or subsection (i) of

section 69

of the

Health Act, 1970

(No. 1 of 1970) is in course of payment to or in respect of the person or the spouse of the person or both of them, and

(

c

) an increase of any such benefit, allowances, pensions or assistance occurs as part of a general increase in such benefits, allowances, pensions or assistance, in calculating the means of the claimant for an allowance under these Regulations any portion of the increase which, if it were reckoned as means, would result in a reduction in the amount of the allowance shall not be reckoned as means.

in calculating the means of the claimant for an allowance under these Regulations any portion of the increase—

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Social Welfare this

29th day of June, 1983.

BARRY DESMOND,

Minister for Social Welfare.

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

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance this 29th

day of June, 1983.

ALAN DUKES,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations amend the conditions for receipt of a rent allowance relating to the means test and calculation of the amount of an allowance to take account of general increases in social welfare payments from the end of June, 1983 and provide that a rent allowance may not be reduced solely as a result of an increase in such a payment.

They also amend provisions as to prosecutions to correspond with amendments to similar provisions relating to other social welfare payments effected by the

Social Welfare Act, 1983

(No. 6 of 1983).

S.I. No. 186 of 1983.

SOCIAL WELFARE (RENT ALLOWANCE) REGULATIONS, 1983.

The Minister for Social Welfare, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by

section 23

of the

Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act, 1982

(No. 6 of 1982) and subsections (2) and (3) of

section 3

of the

Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981

(No. 1 of 1981), hereby makes the following Regulations:—