Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I wish to challenge the grounds on which those amendments have been ruled out. First, they are not a cost to the State because the State is currently paying for separated and divorced partners. We are not adding in something. Rather, we are defending the group of people who are now going to be excluded.

In the Minister’s introduction and his comments on these amendments, he talked about the Supreme Court judgment. The Supreme Court judgment made it clear that no child or partner should be discriminated against. If these amendments are ruled out of order or voted down, new discrimination is being introduced. I can foresee massive legal challenge to this. There is absolutely no way the Minister is going to get away with introducing a new discrimination against people who are separated or divorced. While I am fully in favour of extending this to people who are cohabiting, what the Minister is saying is that they will actually more rights. Cohabitants will now have more rights than separated and divorced people, which is a bit weird in a country that is meant to promote marriage. I can see a lot of legal challenge in this regard.

Separated or divorced people have children, often with the partner who died. What are they to live on? Is some social welfare payment going to be introduced for them? People have maintenance arrangements and children together in full-time education. How does the Minister justify excluding this group of people? I do not agree with the idea that it is costing the State. This is the main measure of the Bill and discussion on amendments on the main item of contention are being ruled out of order. FLAC, One Family Ireland and Treoir all told the Minister they support these amendments and this being maintained.

To give the Minister an example, my husband died in September. We were separated. I was able, as a lone parent with a shared child in full-time education, to get this payment. I was a teacher at the time. I would not be able to get it next year or whenever. What does someone do who has lost both the financial and emotional support of their partner if they are co-parenting?

Somebody who does not even have children would be able to get this payment, but somebody like me would not. How does the Minister justify that? Seriously.