Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

My father died young at 55 years of age. When he passed away, he was working for the health board. We all expected that my mother would receive a pension from the health board but when we delved into the matter, we discovered that my father had opted out of the widows and orphans scheme. He probably only saved £2 or some similarly small sum per week by doing so. If people are given the choice of opting out and if they believe they might save some money as a result, then they will do so. Like my father, they are not thinking about the future. As a result of my father seeking to save money by opting out - or, perhaps, by choosing not to opt in originally - my mother was left without a widow's pension from the health board.

Reference was made to the assessment of capital or business property in the case of self-employed people and that fact that the latter are treated differently. I must point out that if a claimant owns property that he or she is not personally using - such as the formal business premises - and which is no longer used in the context of operating the business, then the value of this asset is assessed using a standard formula and the first €20,000 of the capital is disregarded. That is exactly the same as employees who claim jobseeker's benefit or allowance.