Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I was going to ask that question. I do not understand why that is the cut-off point. This is an improvement to the Bill as published for a small section of the population for three years. To that extent we will not oppose this because we would make the Bill worse than it will be at the end.

If the spouse dies before 1 January, if someone loses a husband or wife over the Christmas period before the new year, the person will not keep the card for three years. It only applies if the husband or wife dies after 1 January. I do not know if anything can be done about this but it seems harsh. If the person dies before 1 January, the card is gone on 2 March. If the person dies on or after 1 January, the card is kept for another three years. I do not know if it is possible to have a sliding scale but it seems particularly harsh.

Deputy Shatter and others have referred to the discrimination we are introducing between certain widows and widowers, depending on what date the person was widowed. It seems it is a discrimination that could be questioned legally or constitutionally. There is a different rule for widows and widowers who are in the same circumstances apart from the date on which they were widowed.

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