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## PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

## AMENDMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE CONSOLIDATION ACT 2005

## AMENDMENT OF CIVIL REGISTRATION ACT 2004

## AMENDMENT OF CHARITIES ACT 2009

## ACTS REFERRED TO

## PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Social Welfare, Civil Registration and Charities (Amendment) Act 2026.

(2) The Social Welfare Acts and Part 2 shall be construed together as one Act.

(3) The Civil Registration Acts 2004 to 2024, the Civil Registration (Electronic

(4) Section 8(a), section 8(b) (insofar as it relates to the insertion of subsections (1E) and (1F) into section 263 of the Principal Act) and section 8(e) (insofar as it relates to the insertion of subsection (5)(e) into section 263 of the Principal Act) shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

(5) Sections 13, 16 to 22 and 25 shall come into operation on such day or days as the

3. (1) Section 14 of the Civil Registration (Electronic Registration) Act 2024 is repealed.

(2) Subsection (1) shall come into operation on the commencement of section 21.

## AMENDMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE CONSOLIDATION ACT 2005

4. (1) Chapter 3 of Part 3 of the Principal Act is repealed.

(2) The Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 139(1), by the deletion of paragraph (b), (b) in section 141(6)— (i) in paragraph (h), by the substitution of “Scheme, or” for “Scheme,”, (ii) in paragraph (i), by the substitution of “course,” for “course, or”, and (iii) by the deletion of paragraph (j), (c) in section 144— (i) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) In the case of a couple, where each of the couple is entitled to jobseeker’s allowance, the total amount payable to them under this Chapter shall not exceed the amount which would be payable if only one of them was entitled to be paid jobseeker’s allowance (including any increases thereof, where appropriate) and each of them shall be entitled to be paid one-half of the amount (including any increases thereof, where appropriate) which would be payable to him or her if only one of them were in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance.”, and (ii) by the deletion of subsection (4), (d) in section 217(2), by the deletion of “, pre-retirement allowance” in both places that it occurs, (e) in section 241(2)(c), by the deletion of “pre-retirement allowance,”, (f) in section 244(1)(c)(i), by the deletion of “pre-retirement allowance,”, (g) in section 248(1), in the definition of “benefit”, by the deletion of paragraph (m), (h) in section 249— (i) in subsection (6), by the deletion of “pre-retirement allowance,”, and (ii) in subsection (6A), by the deletion of “pre-retirement allowance,”, (i) in Part 3 of Schedule 1, by the deletion of paragraph 2, (j) in Schedule 3— (i) in paragraph 1 of Part 2— (I) in subparagraph (1)(a), by the deletion of “, pre-retirement allowance”, (II) in subparagraph (2)(b)(iv)(I), by the deletion of “and pre-retirement allowance”, (III) in subparagraph (2)(b)(v), by the deletion of “, pre-retirement allowance”, (IV) in subparagraph (2)(b)(ix), by the deletion of “, pre-retirement allowance”, (V) in subparagraph (2)(b)(x), by the deletion of “and pre-retirement allowance”, (VI) in subparagraph (4), by the deletion of “pre-retirement allowance,”, and (VII) in subparagraph (7), by the deletion of “and pre-retirement allowance”, and (ii) in Table 1, in Reference No. 1, by the deletion of “, pre-retirement allowance”, and (k) in Schedule 4, in Part 1, by the deletion of “2. Pre-Retirement Allowance:”.

5. The Principal Act is amended— (a) in section 64 (amended by section 40 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous

Provisions) Act 2023)— (i) in subsection (9), by the substitution of “Regulation 31 of the Regulations of

2018” for “Regulation 41 or 42 of the Regulations of 2001” in both places that it occurs, and (ii) in subsection (11), by the substitution of “ ‘Regulations of 2018’ means the

Income Tax (Employments) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 345 of 2018)” for “ ‘Regulations of 2001’ means the Income Tax (Employments) (Consolidation) Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 559 of 2001)”, (b) in section 227 (amended by section 16(1) of the Social Welfare and Automatic

Enrolment Retirement Savings System (Amendment) Act 2025), in paragraph (a) of the definition of “weekly family income”, by the substitution of “Regulation 31 of the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 345 of 2018)” for “Regulations 41 and 42 of the Income Tax (Employments) (Consolidated) Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 559 of 2001)”, and (c) in paragraph 3(b) of Part 3 of Schedule 1, by the substitution of “Regulation 31 of the Income Tax (Employments) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 345 of 2018)” for “Regulations 41 and 42 of the Income Tax (Employments) (Consolidated) Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 559 of 2001)”.

6. Section 68 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (6)— (a) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “employment, or” for “employment,”, (b) in paragraph (d), by the substitution of “employment,” for “employment, or”, (c) by the deletion of paragraph (e), and (d) by the substitution of “failure or neglect” for “failure, neglect or redundancy”.

7. (1) Section 134 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (3), by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “pensioner”:

(a) State pension (contributory);

(b) State pension (transition);

(c) invalidity pension;

(d) bereaved partner’s (contributory) pension;

(e) deserted wife’s benefit;

(2) Section 170(2) of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of “a bereaved partner’s (non-contributory) pension” for “a widow’s (non-contributory) pension, a widower’s (non-contributory) pension, a surviving civil partner’s (non-contributory) pension”.

(3) Part 5 of Schedule 3 (amended by section 8 of the Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024) to the Principal Act is amended— (a) in paragraph 1(1)(a), by the substitution of “bereaved partner’s (noncontributory) pension” for “widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (noncontributory) pension”, (b) in paragraph 1(2)— (i) by the substitution of “bereaved partner’s (non-contributory) pension” for “widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension, surviving civil partner’s (non-contributory) pension”, (ii) in clause (b)— (I) in subclause (ii), by the substitution of “bereaved partner’s (noncontributory) pension” for “widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension, surviving civil partner’s (noncontributory) pension”, (II) in subclause (v), by the substitution of “bereaved partner’s (noncontributory) pension” for “widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension or surviving civil partner’s (noncontributory) pension”, and (III) in subclause (vii), by the substitution of “bereaved partner’s (noncontributory) pension” for “widow’s (non-contributory) pension, widower’s (non-contributory) pension, a surviving civil partner’s (noncontributory) pension”, and (c) in paragraph 5(1), by the substitution of “bereaved partner’s (non-contributory)

(4) Table 1 of Schedule 3 (amended by section 21 of the Social Welfare Act 2021) to the

(5) Paragraph 1 of Schedule 5A (amended by section 14 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024) to the Principal Act is amended by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (j):

“(j) bereaved partner’s (contributory) pension;”.

8. Section 263 of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (1A), by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (b):

“(ba) where a request is made under subsection (1F), the date of birth of that person;”, (b) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (1C):

“(1D) A person to whom a public services card is issued may, in circumstances other than the carrying out of a transaction, use the card to provide information in respect of his or her identity to any person, whether a specified body or otherwise.

(1E) A person to whom a public services card is issued may, in circumstances other than the carrying out of a transaction, use the card to provide information in respect of his or her date of birth to any person, whether a specified body or otherwise.

(1F) Notwithstanding subsection (1B) and without prejudice to subsection (2), a person— (a) to whom a public services card has been issued, (b) to whom the Minister proposes to issue a public services card, or (c) who is appointed to act on behalf of a person— (i) to whom a public services card has been issued, or (ii) to whom the Minister proposes to issue a public services card, may request the Minister to inscribe on, or delete from, the public services card concerned, the date of birth of the person to whom the card has been, or is proposed to be, issued.”, (c) in subsection (3), by the insertion of “carrying out” after “purposes of”, (d) by the deletion of subsection (4), and (e) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (4) (deleted by paragraph (d)):

“(5) A person who uses or attempts to use a public services card, other than— (a) the person who is the holder of the card or a person appointed to act on behalf of the cardholder, (b) a specified body, for the purposes of carrying out a transaction, (c) a person who has a transaction with a specified body where the personal public service number on the card is relevant to the transaction between that person and the specified body, (d) a person who accepts the card under subsection (1D) as information relating to the identity of the cardholder, or (e) a person who accepts the card under subsection (1E) as information relating to the cardholder’s date of birth, is guilty of an offence.

(6) A person who seeks to have a public services card produced to him or her, other than— (a) a specified body, for the purposes of carrying out a transaction, or (b) a person who has a transaction with a specified body where the personal public service number on the card is relevant to the transaction between that person and the specified body, is guilty of an offence.

(7) A public services card shall remain the property of the Minister at all times.”.

9. Section 300A of the Principal Act is amended— (a) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “(whether in respect of a decision under section 300 or 311, or a revised decision under section 301, 317 or 318)” for “(whether in respect of a decision under section 300 or a revised decision under section 301)”, and (b) in subsection (3), by the insertion of “, appeals officer, or the Chief Appeals

(a) affirm any decision of an appeals officer, (b) revise any decision of an appeals officer, where it appears to the

Chief Appeals Officer that the decision was erroneous by reason of some mistake having been made in relation to the law or the facts, or (c) annul any decision of an appeals officer, where it appears to the

(2) Where the Chief Appeals Officer annuls a decision in accordance with subsection (1)(c) he or she may, where he or she considers that the matter can be addressed by the remittal of the matter to an appeals officer for consideration, remit the matter to an appeals officer.”.

## “327. Any person who is dissatisfied with a decision of an appeals officer, or a

## AMENDMENT OF CIVIL REGISTRATION ACT 2004

“(m) a register of particulars to which section 30I applies (which shall be known, and is referred to in this Act, as the ‘register of lived identity’).”.

14. Section 22 of the Act of 2004 is amended— (a) in subsection (2)— (i) in paragraph (d), by the substitution of “father of the child, or” for “father of the child.”, and (ii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (d):

“(e) where the registration relates to a child who is in the care of the

Child and Family Agency, if the Child and Family Agency so requests the registrar in writing and produces to him or her a document purporting to be a declaration made under section 35 of the Status of Children Act 1987 or an order made by a court in proceedings referred to in section 45 of that Act, and to be certified by or on behalf of the court to be a true copy of the declaration or order that the person is the father of the child and none of the persons referred to in paragraph (d) has made a request to the registrar under that paragraph.”, (b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) Where one of the persons to whom in any particular case paragraph (d)

or (e) of subsection (2) applies makes a request to a registrar under either of those provisions, the registrar shall, where practicable, notify the other persons referred to in paragraph (d) capable of making a request.”, and (c) in subsection (5)— (i) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “subsection (2),” for “subsection (2), and”, (ii) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “subsection (2), and” for “subsection (2).”,and (iii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (c):

“(d) where the request has been made under subsection (2)(e), the officer of the Child and Family Agency who made the request.”.

15. Section 23A of the Act of 2004 is amended— (a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) Where the birth of a child whose parents were not married to each other at the date of the birth or at any time during the period of 10 months ending immediately before that date has been registered (whether or not anybody has been registered as the child’s father) under this Act or the repealed enactments, and where the child is in the care of the Child and Family Agency, a registrar shall re-register the birth in such manner as an tArd-Chláraitheoir may direct and enter in the register the name of a person (in this section referred to as ‘the person’) as the father of the child if the Child and Family Agency so requests the registrar in writing and produces to him or her a document purporting to be a declaration made under section 35 of the Status of Children Act 1987 or an order made by a court in proceedings referred to in section 45 of that Act, and to be certified by or on behalf of the court to be a true copy of the declaration or order that the person is the father of the child and none of the persons referred to in subsection (1) has made a request to the registrar under that subsection.”, (b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4):

“(4) Where one of the persons to whom subsection (1) or (1A) applies makes a request to a registrar under either of those provisions, the registrar shall, where practicable, notify any other persons referred to in subsection (1) capable of making a request and anybody registered as the child’s father as the case may be.”, and (c) in subsection (5)— (i) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “subsection (1),” for “subsection (1), and”, (ii) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “subsection (1), and” for “subsection (1).”, and (iii) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (c):

“(d) where the request is made under subsection (1A), the officer of the

16. Section 30F of the Act of 2004 is amended— (a) in the definition of “affected person”, by the substitution of “lawful child;” for “lawful child, and includes a person in respect of whom the entry in the register of births has been corrected or cancelled pursuant to section 63, 64 or 65;”, and (b) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “register”:

## “30H. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), where an tArd-Chláraitheoir is

aware of an error of fact in an entry in the register of births in relation to the particulars of birth of an affected person (in this Part referred to as a ‘relevant entry’), and, having considered any information or documents received in accordance with subsection (1) of section 30G or in accordance with a notice under subsection (2) of that section together with any submissions received in accordance with subsection (3), an tArd-Chláraitheoir is satisfied that the relevant entry is incorrect, he or she may— (a) correct, or cause to be corrected, the relevant entry in the register of births, (b) note the relevant entry in the register of births in accordance with subsection (2), or (c) note the relevant entry in the register of births in accordance with subsection (2) and, where the particulars are not already so registered, register the particulars of the birth of the affected person.

(2) An entry in the register of births noted in accordance with this subsection shall be retained in the register of births but shall no longer be available to be issued as a copy certified to be a true copy, a copy or a certified extract under this Act.

(3) Prior to taking action under subsection (1) (in this section referred to as the ‘proposed action’), an tArd-Chláraitheoir shall make all reasonable efforts to notify in writing any person whose personal data would be affected by the proposed action of his or her intention to take the proposed action.

(4) A person notified in accordance with subsection (3) or, where the person is unable to do so because of age, illness or disability, a person acting on his or her behalf, may make a submission to an tArd-Chláraitheoir in relation to the proposed action within such period (being a period of not less than 28 days) as may be specified in the notice or such longer period as may be agreed by the person and an tArd-Chláraitheoir.

(5) In this section—

(2) Where an action under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 30H(1) is taken in respect of a relevant entry, an tArd-Chláraitheoir shall enter the particulars to which this section applies in the register of lived identity.

(3) Any requirement of law for production of a certificate of birth shall be satisfied by the production of the certified copy of an entry in the register of lived identity, if purporting to be issued under the seal of Oifig an Ard-Chláraitheora.

(4) In this Act, a reference to the particulars to which this section applies is a reference to the particulars of birth of an affected person entered in a relevant entry.”.

“(aa) a person nominated in writing by the person to whom the entry on the register relates;

(ab) a member of the public, where the affected person to whom the entry on the register relates has given his or her permission in that regard in accordance with section 30K(3);”.

20. Section 30K of the Act of 2004 is amended— (a) in subsection (2), by the substitution of “Subject to subsection (3), the index” for “The index”, and (b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) An entry on the index maintained under subsection (1) shall be open for public inspection where the person to whom the entry on the index relates gives his or her written permission to an tArd-Chláraitheoir.”.

## “42. (1) It shall be the duty of—

(a) where a death occurs in a hospital or other institution, the chief officer (by whatever name called) of the hospital or other institution in which the death occurs, or a person authorised by the chief officer to perform his or her functions, or (b) where a death occurs other than in a hospital or other institution, the medical practitioner who attended to the deceased person immediately before or after the death occurred or a person authorised by the medical practitioner to perform his or her functions, to notify an tArd-Chláraitheoir of the death in such manner as he or she may specify, as soon as is practicable and in any case, subject to subsection (4), no later than 5 working days— (i) after the death occurred, or (ii) where section 41(2)(b) applies, after the death has been referred by the coroner under that subparagraph.

(2) A notification under subsection (1) shall contain— (a) so many of the required particulars in relation to the death as are known at the relevant time to the person providing the particulars, and (b) the cause of the death as determined by a registered medical practitioner to the best of his or her knowledge and belief where— (i) the death has not been referred to a coroner in pursuance of the

Coroners Act 1962, or (ii) the death has been referred by a coroner under section 41(2)(b).

(3) On receipt of a notification under subsection (1), an tArd-Chláraitheoir may issue to a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of section 37(1) a notice to comply with his or her duties under this Part.

(4) If it is not possible for a medical practitioner in relation to whom this section applies to comply with his or her duty under subsection (1) to notify an tArd-Chláraitheoir within 5 working days of the death concerned due to being unable to determine the cause of death within that period, he or she shall, within that period, notify an tArd-Chláraitheoir of the date by which he or she shall comply with that duty.”.

“(2A) When an tArd-Chláraitheoir is notified, whether under subsection (1)

24. Section 73 of the Act of 2004 is amended— (a) in subsection (2), by the substitution of “An tArd-Chláraitheoir” for “The

Minister”, (b) in subsection (3)(c), by the substitution of “an tArd-Chláraitheoir” for “the

Minister”, (c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(3A) Before making regulations under subsection (3), the Minister shall consult with an tArd-Chláraitheoir and the Director General of the Central Statistics Office, and shall have regard to the opinion of each as to what information should be required to be furnished under the regulations.”, (d) in subsection (5), by the substitution of “an tArd-Chláraitheoir” for “the

Minister” in both places that it occurs, and (e) in subsection (6)— (i) by the substitution of “an tArd-Chláraitheoir may arrange with the Director

General of the Central Statistics Office” for “the Minister may arrange with any other Minister of the Government”, and (ii) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “officers of statistics (within the meaning of the Statistics Act 1993)” for “officers of that Minister of the Government”.

25. The First Schedule to the Act of 2004 is amended— (a) in Part 1, by the substitution of “Forename(s), surname, qualification, address and (where applicable) signature of informant” for “Forename(s), surname, qualification, address and signature of informant”, and (b) in Part 2, by the substitution of “Forename(s), surname, qualification, address and (where applicable) signature of informant” for “Forename(s), surname, qualification, address and signature of informant”.

## AMENDMENT OF CHARITIES ACT 2009

26. The Charities Act 2009 is amended— (a) in section 33, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6):

“(6) In this section—

‘relevant body’ means— (a) a relevant regulator, or (b) a body, or holder of an office, who carries out functions relating to the oversight or monitoring of charitable organisations (where the body or office is prescribed by order of the Minister);

‘relevant regulator’ means— (a) a body, or holder of an office, in whom functions are vested relating to the regulation of activities or persons for purposes other than the purposes of this Act (where the body or office is established by or under an enactment and is prescribed by order of the Minister), or (b) a body, or holder of an office, in whom functions are vested under the law of a state (other than the State) relating to the regulation of activities or persons in that state for any purpose (where the body or office is prescribed by order of the Minister).”, and (b) in section 77— (i) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (2):

“(2A) The quorum for a hearing of the Tribunal shall be 3 of its members.

(2B) At a hearing of the Tribunal— (a) the chairperson of the Tribunal shall, if present, be the chairperson of the hearing, or (b) if and so long as the chairperson of the Tribunal is not present or if that office is vacant, the other members of the Tribunal who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairperson of the hearing.”, and (ii) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (5):

“(5A) A person giving evidence at a hearing of the Tribunal shall be entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if he or she were a witness before the High Court.”.