Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputies O'Reilly and Wall. What we are trying to do here is to address an anomaly and ensure equality of treatment. To ensure equality of treatment in the case of a married couple who separate, a similar rule is going to apply to a relationship of qualified cohabitation. If the rules were left as they are, cohabiting couples would continue to be treated differently from separated or divorced couples. We have a choice to either address the anomalies or make them more complex. We have looked at the eligibility for bereaved partners and that ceases two years after separation.

We believe this policy position reduces the likelihood of further litigation on equality grounds and, potentially, multiple pension claims after the death of an individual.

The alternative being advanced by some would be to allow any family, irrespective of the current relationship status of the parents, to be entitled to the payment, even if there were no financial commitments at the time of the death. On this basis, it is difficult to see how the scheme would not be subject to further legal challenge when it comes to cases where the status of the relationship of the relative parents does not fit within any of the proposed categories for eligibility. Relationships that have long broken down where there is no financial commitment or relationship could also be qualified.

Deputy Coppinger speaks to cases where there are financial commitments. By extending the eligibility to where there is no financial commitment or no financial relationship there would then be eligibility for a pension. The previous scheme fell because it was not possible to justify the difference in treatment for the range of beneficiaries who were included when compared to those who were excluded. We would be concerned that accepting these amendments would open this up again. There is a contention that a new category of children would be denied the benefit. While there is an increase of the dependent children payment under the scheme, it is not specifically directed at children. This fact is also noted in the Supreme Court judgment.

In terms of potential legal challenges, we have not done this in isolation. We have gone through this with the Parliamentary Counsel and the Office of the Attorney General to ensure consistency and equality across the scheme.