S.I. No. 293/2025 - Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 4) (Sharing of Information) Regulations 2025

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 8th July, 2025.

I, DARA CALLEARY, Minister for Social Protection, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 4 (amended by section 14 and reference 1 of the Schedule to the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 (No. 24 of 2024)) and 266 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26 of 2005), hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and construction

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 4) (Sharing of Information) Regulations 2025.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 to 2025 shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 to 2025.

Sharing of information

2. Article 189 (amended by article 2 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 4) (Sharing of Information) Regulations 2015 ( S.I. No. 317 of 2015 )) of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 142 of 2007 ) is amended by –

(a) the insertion of the following sub-article after sub-article (1A):

“(1B) The following is prescribed as information that may be shared, in accordance with section 266, by the Minister for Social Protection with the Minister for Education and Youth, in relation to all children aged 5 and under at the end of the month preceding the date on which the information is shared each year:

(a) the child’s age in years, or the fact that the child was less than one year old;

(b) the address associated with the child (including the related Eircode if available);

(c) the child’s component ID being a unique identifier generated by the Minister for Social Protection which enables this information to be shared with the Minister for Education and Youth without the use of the child’s personal public service number; and, thereafter, the classification and analysis of that information by the Minister for Education and Youth;

to the extent that such information is required by the Minister for Education and Youth for the purpose of the planning and co-ordination of the provision of sufficient school places in relevant geographical areas for the numbers of children likely to be seeking admission to schools as junior infants in the following 5 years.”.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

3 July, 2025.

DARA CALLEARY,

Minister for Social Protection.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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

Section 266 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 provides that specified bodies may share any information that may be prescribed with the Minister for Education and Youth, where that Minister requires the information for the purpose of enabling him or her to provide education in accordance with section 6 (b) of the Education Act 1998.

The purpose of these Regulations is to provide for the sharing of limited categories of information in relation to children aged 5 and under by the Minister for Social Protection with the Minister for Education and Youth to further assist him or her to plan for school provision in geographic areas based on the number of children in each area.