(1) Section 41 (as amended by section 4 of the Act of 2006) of the Principal Act is amended -

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

"(a) that the claimant has qualifying contributions in respect of not less than 104 contribution weeks in the period between his or her entry into insurance and the day for which the benefit is claimed, and",

and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (3):

"(3A) In the case of a claim for illness benefit where the period of interruption of employment began on or after 5 April 2004 and before 5 January 2009, subsection (1) (a) shall be read as if '52' were substituted for '104'.".

(2) Section 44 (as amended by section 4 of the Act of 2006) of the Principal Act is amended -

(a) by inserting the following subsections after subsection (1):

"(1A) Where a person -