Mr. Christopher Bowes:

The main payment concerned is the contributory version of the widower's pension. At the moment, there are just under 130,000 people in receipt of that. According to figures we have seen in response to a parliamentary question that was answered by the Minister for Social Protection, there are usually approximately 3,000 people recorded as previously having been divorced who are in receipt of the payment. This figure had remained fairly stable over the most recent five years that the Department was able to provide figures for. This indicates that it is probably 2.5% of the people who are in receipt of a widower's or widow's pension. When representatives of the Department appeared before the committee last year to discuss the general scheme of this legislation, they indicated that there were only about 100 fresh applications from people who were divorced for a widower's or widow's pension each year. The figure remains stable and the number being added each year is quite small.