Social Welfare Act, 1991

Amalgamation of employer's contribution in respect of occupational injuries with employer's social insurance contribution.

40.—(1) Section 5 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1) Subject to this Act—

(a) every person who, being over the age of 16 years and under pensionable age, is employed in any of the employments specified in Part I of the First Schedule, not being an employment specified in Part II of that Schedule, shall, subject to paragraph (b), be an employed contributor for the purposes of this Act, and

(b) every person, irrespective of age, who is employed in insurable (occupational injuries) employment shall be an employed contributor and references in this Act to an employed contributor shall be construed accordingly, and

(c) every person becoming for the first time an employed contributor shall thereby become insured under this Act and shall thereafter continue throughout his life to be so insured.”, and

(b) by the insertion after subsection (2) of the following subsection:

“(2A) The occupational injuries insurance of any person shall be disregarded in determining his right to become, or to continue to be, a voluntary contributor and the rate of voluntary contribution payable in any case shall not be affected by such insurance.”.

(2) Section 7 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after paragraph (j) of subsection (1) of the following paragraph:

“(k) persons employed in an employment which is an insurable (occupational injuries) employment pursuant to section 38.”.

(3) Section 9 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection:

“(1) For the purposes of providing moneys for meeting the expenditure on benefit and making any other payments which, under this Act, the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1991, and the Protection of Employees (Employer's Insolvency) Acts, 1984 and 1990, are to be made out of the Social Insurance Fund, there shall be—

(a) contributions (referred to in this Act as ‘employment contributions’) in respect of employed contributors, each of which shall comprise a contribution by the employed contributor and a contribution (referred to in this Act as ‘the employer's contribution’) by the employer of the employed contributor,

(b) contributions in respect of voluntary contributors, and

(c) payments out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.”.

(4) Subsection (1) of section 10 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) (inserted by section 5 of the Social Welfare Act, 1982 ) of “12.2 per cent.” for “11.3 per cent.”.

(5) Section 65 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed.

(6) This section shall come into operation on the 6th day of April, 1991.