Section 55 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by -

(a) the substitution for the proviso (inserted by section 58 of the Social Welfare Act, 1992) to subsection (1) of the following proviso:

"Provided that -

(i) where the period selected by the trustees is altered, a report prepared for a period other than a year, such period not to exceed 23 months, shall, with the approval of the Board, be regarded as an annual report for the purposes of this section, and

(ii) where the scheme is in operation for part only of the year selected, a report prepared for a period including that part of the year and not exceeding 23 months shall be regarded as an annual report for the purposes of this section.",

and

(b) the substitution for paragraph (b) of subsection (2) (inserted by section 62 of the Social Welfare Act, 1991) of the following paragraph:

"(b) a scheme under which service in the relevant employment after the 1st day of January, 1997, does not entitle the members of the scheme to long service benefit and, where any long service benefit is determined by reference to a member's earnings, such earnings in the case of all members relate to a date or a period before the 1st day of January, 1997.".