Health Contributions Act, 1971

What is this act about?

This law establishes a system for collecting health contributions from certain individuals to help cover the costs of health services provided under Part IV of the Health Act, 1970. It outlines who must pay, how much, and how these contributions are collected and managed.

Who it applies to: Persons who have limited eligibility for services under Part IV of the Health Act, 1970, excluding certain categories; Employers of insured persons under the Social Welfare Act, 1952, for certain employees.

At a glance

Country: Ireland
Area of law: Health and pharmaceutical law
Articles: 14
Source: irishstatutebook.ie
Text retrieved: 2026-06-17
Explanation updated: 2026-07-07

What does this act regulate?

The liability of certain persons to pay health contributions.
The rates at which these contributions are to be paid, including weekly and annual rates, and rates related to income or rateable valuation of farms.
The collection mechanisms for these contributions, involving employers, voluntary contributors, the Collector-General, and health boards.
Penalties for failing to pay contributions and procedures for their recovery.

Who does this act apply to?

Persons who have limited eligibility for services under Part IV of the Health Act, 1970, excluding certain categories.
Employers of insured persons under the Social Welfare Act, 1952, for certain employees.
Voluntary contributors under the Social Welfare Act, 1952.

What are the key points?

Health contributions are paid towards the cost of services under Part IV of the Health Act, 1970.
Initially, weekly rates are 15 new pence for certain insured persons and annual rates are £7 for others.
Later, rates will be related to income for most persons, and to the rateable valuation of farms for those mentioned in section 46 (1) (c) of the Health Act, 1970.
Failure to pay contributions can result in a fine not exceeding £100 or imprisonment for up to three months, or both, on summary conviction.

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Legal text

Contents (14)

Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14

Health Contributions Act, 1971 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 1971 Health Contributions Act, 1971 Health Contributions Act, 1971 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 21 of 1971 HEALTH CONTRIBUTIONS ACT, 1971 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section

Section 1

Definitions.

Section 2

Liability for health contributions.

Section 3

Rates of contributions.

Section 4

Payment of contribution by employers in respect of certain employees.

Section 5

Health contributions by voluntary contributors.

Section 6

Payment of certain health contributions.

Section 7

Collection of contributions.

Section 8

Payment of health contributions to Minister.

Section 9

Failure to pay contributions.

Section 10

Recovery of health contributions.

Section 11

Provisions relating to winding up and bankruptcy.

Section 12

Regulations.

Section 13

Expenses.

Section 14

Short title and commencement.

Acts Referred to Social Welfare Act, 1952 1952, No. 11 Health Act, 1970 1970, No. 1 Income Tax Act, 1967 1967, No. 6 Companies Act, 1963 1963, No. 33 Preferential Payments in Bankruptcy (Ireland) Act, 1889 1889, c. 60 Number 21 of 1971 HEALTH CONTRIBUTIONS ACT, 1971 AN ACT TO PROVIDE, IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN PERSONS HAVING ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICES UNDER PART IV OF THE HEALTH ACT, 1970 , FOR THE PAYMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS THE COST OF PROVIDING SUCH SERVICES, AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE MATTER AFORESAID. [27th July, 1971.] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Definitions.

1.—In this Act— “the Act of 1952” means the Social Welfare Act, 1952 ; “the Act of 1970” means the Health Act, 1970 ; “the Collector-General” means the Collector-General appointed under section 162 of the Income Tax Act, 1967 ; “health board” means a health board established under the Act of 1970; “health contributions” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of this Act; “the Minister” means the Minister for Health.

Liability for health contributions.

2.—(1) There shall be paid, in accordance with this Act and regulations thereunder, contributions (in this Act referred to as health contributions) towards the cost of the provision of services under Part IV of the Act of 1970.

(2)Save as otherwise provided in section 4 of this Act, health contributions shall be payable by persons who, by virtue of section 46 of the Act of 1970, have limited eligibility for services under Part IV of that Act, not being either persons referred to in section 46 (1) (d) of that Act or persons belonging to a class prescribed for the purpose of this section.

Rates of contributions.

3.—(1) In the period beginning on the date of the commencement of this Act and ending on the date specified by order for the purposes of subsection (2) of this section, health contributions shall be— (a) in the case of a person insured under the Act of 1952 to whom section 4 or 5 of this Act applies, at the weekly rate of 15 new pence, and (b) in the case of any other person, at the annual rate of £7, and shall be collected at such intervals as may be prescribed.

(2)From the date specified by order for the purposes of this subsection, health contributions shall be— (a) in the case of persons other than those mentioned in section 46 (1) (c) of the Act of 1970, at a rate related to the persons' incomes and fixed by regulations made from time to time by the Minister for the purposes of this section, and (b) in the case of persons mentioned in section 46 (1) (c) of the Act of 1970, in accordance with such a scale of contributions, related to the rateable valuation of the farm or farms (including the buildings thereon) from the farming of which the persons' incomes are derived, as may from time to time be fixed by regulations made by the Minister under this section.

(3)For the purposes of this section income shall include, in relation to any person, the income of a spouse of that person where the spouse is resident with that person.

(4)The Minister may by order, made with the consent of the Minister for Finance, specify a date for the purposes of subsection (2) of this section.

(5)The Minister may, by regulations made with the consent of the Minister for Finance, define income for the purposes of this section, either by reference to any other enactment or in such other manner as he thinks fit.

Payment of contribution by employers in respect of certain employees.

4.—(1) In the period beginning on the commencement of this Act and ending on the date specified by order for the purposes of section 3

(2)of this Act, the employer of a person who is insured under the Act of 1952 and to whom this section applies shall pay the health contribution in respect of that person, in respect of any week of insurable employment for which he is liable to pay an employment contribution under that Act in respect of that person.

(2)In any case to which subsection (1) of this section applies, the rate of employment contribution payable under the Act of 1952 shall be increased by the amount of the health contribution under section 3

(1)(a) of this Act, and the health contribution shall be deemed to be an employment contribution within the meaning of and for the purposes of the Act of 1952.

(3)An employer who is liable to pay a health contribution under this section shall be entitled to recover the amount of any such contribution from the employee in respect of whom the contribution was paid (other than any such employee having, by virtue of section 45 of the Act of 1970, full eligibility for the services under Part IV of that Act), and any such recovery may be made by appropriate deductions from the employee's remuneration.

(4)This section applies to such insured persons or classes of insured persons, not being voluntary contributors within the meaning of the Act of 1952, as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Social Welfare, prescribes for the purpose of this section.

(5)In this section “employer” includes the person treated as the employer under regulations made under section 2 (4) of the Act of 1952.

Health contributions by voluntary contributors.

5.—(1) In the period beginning on the commencement of this Act and ending on the date specified by order for the purposes of section 3

(2)of this Act, a person who is a voluntary contributor within the meaning of the Act of 1952 shall pay a health contribution in respect of any week for which he pays a voluntary contribution within the meaning of the Act of 1952.

(2)The rate of voluntary contribution payable in any case under the Act of 1952 shall be increased by the amount of the health contribution under section 3

(1)(a) of this Act and the health contribution shall be deemed to be a voluntary contribution within the meaning of and for the purposes of the Act of 1952.

Payment of certain health contributions.

6.—Health contributions payable under section 4 or 5 of this Act shall be paid into the Social Insurance Fund.

Collection of contributions.

7.—(1) The Minister may make regulations providing for the payment of, and the determination of liability for, health contributions (other than those payable by virtue of section 4 or 5 of this Act) and generally for any matter incidental thereto.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations under this section may provide for— (a) the determination (whether by requiring a declaration in writing, the compilation of a register by a person collecting health contributions or by such other means as the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Finance, thinks fit) whether a person is a person mentioned in section 46 (1) (other than section 46 (1) (d)) of the Act of 1970, (b) the collection of health contributions (either from all persons liable to pay such contributions or from specified classes of such persons) on behalf of the Minister by the Collector-General or by a health board.

(3)If any person, whether for himself or some other person— (a) fails or refuses to comply with a requirement of a regulation under this section, (b) knowingly makes any false statement or false representation or knowingly conceals any material fact in relation to any such requirement, or (c) produces or furnishes, or causes or knowingly allows to be produced or furnished, any document or information in relation to any such requirement which he knows to be false in a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

Payment of health contributions to Minister.

8.—All sums paid into the Social Insurance Fund under section 6 of this Act and all sums collected under section 7 of this Act by the Collector-General or a health board shall be paid over to the Minister and all sums so paid over to the Minister shall be disposed of by him in accordance with regulations made by him with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

Failure to pay contributions.

9.—(1) Where a person fails to pay a health contribution which he is obliged to pay under this Act, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

(2)Where a person, being a person mentioned in section 46 (1) (c) of the Act of 1970, fails to pay a health contribution the amount of the contribution shall be recoverable as a simple contract debt due to the appropriate health board.

(3)A prosecution for an offence under this Act may be brought at the suit of the Minister or the appropriate health board.

(4)This section shall not apply to health contributions payable under section 4 or 5 of this Act.

Recovery of health contributions.

10.—(1) (a) The provisions of any enactment relating to the recovery of income tax and the provisions of any rule of court so relating shall apply, in the case of health contributions which the Collector-General is obliged to collect, to the recovery from a person of any health contributions which that person is liable to pay under this Act as they apply in relation to the recovery of income tax. (b) Provisions as applied by this subsection shall so apply subject to any modifications which the Minister considers necessary and are prescribed by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(2)In proceedings instituted by virtue of this section— (a) a certificate signed by the Collector-General which certifies that a stated amount is due and payable by the defendant shall be evidence until the contrary is proved that that amount is so due and payable, and (b) a certificate certifying as aforesaid and purporting to be signed by the Collector-General may be tendered in evidence without proof and shall be deemed until the contrary is proved to have been signed by him.

(3)Subject to this section, the rules of the court concerned for the time being applicable to civil proceedings shall apply to proceedings by virtue of this section.

Provisions relating to winding up and bankruptcy.

11.—(1) There shall be included among the debts which, under section 285 of the Companies Act, 1963 , are, in the distribution of the assets of a company being wound up, to be paid in priority to all other debts, all health contributions payable by the company under this Act during the twelve months before the commencement of the winding up or the winding-up order, and that Act shall have effect accordingly, and formal proof of the debts to which priority is given under this subsection shall not be required except in cases where it may otherwise be provided by rules made under that Act.

(2)Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply where a company is wound up voluntarily merely for the purposes of reconstruction or of amalgamation with another company.

(3)There shall be included among the debts which, under section 4 of the Preferential Payments in Bankruptcy (Ireland) Act, 1889, are, in the distribution of the property of a bankrupt or arranging debtor, to be paid in priority to all other debts, all health contributions payable under this Act by the bankrupt or arranging debtor during the twelve months before the date of the order of adjudication in the case of a bankrupt or the filing of the petition for arrangement in the case of an arranging debtor, and that Act shall have effect accordingly, and formal proof of the debts to which priority is given under this subsection shall not be required except in cases where it may otherwise be provided by general orders made under the said Act.

Regulations.

12.—(1) The Minister may make regulations in relation to any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed.

(2)(a) Whenever it is proposed to make regulations under section 3

(2)of this Act, the Minister shall obtain the consent of the Minister for Finance to the regulations and shall cause to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas a draft of the proposed regulations. (b) Regulations under section 3

(2)of this Act shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each House of the Oireachtas.

(3)Every regulation made under this Act (other than regulations under section 3 (2) thereof) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Expenses.

13.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Short title and commencement.

14.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Health Contributions Act, 1971.

(2)This Act shall come into operation on such date as the Minister appoints by order.

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