S.I. No. 72/2017 - Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 1) Regulations 2017.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 1) Regulations 2017.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations 1998 to 2016 shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations 1998 to 2017.

Commencement

2. These Regulations come into operation on 10 March 2017.

Amount of allowance

3. Article 7 (amended by the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment) (No. 1) Regulations 2016 (

S.I. No. 5 of 2016

)) of the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations 1998 (

S.I. No. 188 of 1998

) is amended—

(

a

) in sub-article 1(

a

), by substituting “€451.80” for “€442.30”,

(

b

) in sub-article 1(

b

), by substituting “€238.30” for “€233.30”,

and

(

c

) by substituting the following sub-article for sub-article (2)

“(2) An allowance, in the case of persons whose weekly means exceed the amounts specified in paragraph (

a

) or (

b

) of sub-article (1), as the case may be, shall be the amount of allowance that would arise if the provisions of sub-article (1) applied, reduced—

(

a

) in the case of a person who is one of a couple, by 50 cent for each €1 of weekly means in excess of €451.80, but not exceeding €651.80, and by €1 for each €1 of weekly means in excess of €651.80, and

(

b

) in any other case, by 50 cent for each €1 of weekly means in excess of €238.30, but not exceeding €438.30, and by €1 for each €1 of weekly means in excess of €438.30.”.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform consents to the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

6 March 2017.

PASCHAL DONOHOE,

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

7 March 2017.

LEO VARADKAR,

Minister for Social Protection.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations provide for increases in the amount of means disregarded for people affected by the decontrol of rents for the Rent Allowance scheme with effect from 10 March 2017.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

10

th March

, 2017.

I, LEO VARADKAR, Minister for Social Protection, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 28 (inserted by

section 20

of the

Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002

(No. 9 of 2002)) and adapted by the Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (

S.I. No. 418 of 2011

) of the

Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act 1982

(No. 6 of 1982), with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and by section 4 (adapted by

sections 23

and

28

of the

Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act 1982

) of the

Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

(No. 26 of 2005), hereby make the following Regulations

Citation and construction