Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 10 in the name of Deputy Ó Snodaigh was ruled out of order as a potential charge on the Exchequer. It is similar to the previous amendment in that it seeks to broaden the criteria for entitlement to the back-to-work family dividend to include those that cease to claim or be entitled to carer's allowance. That is currently not provided for in the Bill and it has the potential to impose a charge on the Exchequer. Therefore, the amendment must be ruled out of order in accordance with Standing Order 1563.

Amendment No. 11 in the name of Deputy O'Dea has been ruled out of order as a potential charge on the Exchequer. Again, it is on the basis that it seeks to broaden the eligibility criteria for entitlement to the back-to-work family dividend to allow persons taking up work on a partial basis or those working in low-paid employment currently in receipt of jobseeker's benefit or jobseeker's allowance to benefit from the back-to-work family dividend incentive without losing access to their allowances. The amendment has the potential to impose a charge on the Exchequer and therefore it must be ruled out of order in accordance with Standing Order 1563.

Amendment No. 12 in the name of Deputy O'Dea similarly has been ruled out of order on the basis that it is a potential charge on the Exchequer. Again, it provides for the removal of the requirement that in any continuous period of unemployment a person must have been in receipt of jobseeker's benefit, jobseeker's allowance or a qualifying payment for not less than 312 days of unemployment. Removing this requirement broadens the criteria for entitlement to the back-to-work family dividend and has the potential to impose a charge on the Exchequer and therefore the amendment must also be ruled out of order in accordance with Standing Order 1563.

Amendment No. 13 in the name of Deputy O'Dea has also been ruled out of order as a potential charge on the Exchequer. That is because it provides that a person would be entitled to the back-to-work family dividend even where that person's spouse, civil partner or cohabitant is in receipt of a range of social welfare benefits. Removal of those conditions has the potential to impose a charge on the Exchequer and therefore the amendment must be ruled out of order in accordance with Standing Order 1563.

Amendment No. 14 has also been ruled out of order as a potential charge on the Exchequer because it provides for the extension of the maximum duration of two years for claiming the back-to-work family dividend for up to three years. The amendment has the potential to impose a charge on the Exchequer and therefore the amendment must be ruled out of order in accordance with Standing Order 1563.

Amendments Nos. 15 and 16 have both been ruled out of order as a potential charge on the Exchequer. The Bill currently provides that the rate of back-to-work family dividend payment would reduce by half after the first year of receipt. The amendments seek to maintain the original rate of the dividend for a second year. The amendments have the potential to impose a charge on the Exchequer and therefore the amendments must be ruled out of order in accordance with Standing Order 1563.

Amendment No. 17 has been ruled out of order as a potential charge on the Exchequer because it seeks to provide that children in receipt of social welfare payment in their own right would still be eligible for inclusion in the calculation of the dividend payment to their parents. The amendment has the potential to impose a charge on the Exchequer and therefore the amendment must be ruled out of order in accordance with Standing Order 1563.