Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The marriage bar was done away with when Ireland joined the EEC when a range of measures around equality came into law in Ireland. Ireland has the homemaker's credit, which is quite generous and which I was involved in introducing in 1994. This particular lady is entitled to apply for a non-contributory pension. If one looks for an assessment of what would be her best way of maximising what she is receiving, that could be a non-contributory pension which at €219 per week is a significant payment. If the lady has a spouse, she could look to get a qualified adult payment. Again, this is not as high as a full non-contributory weekly pension in her own right. It is a slightly lower rate if her spouse or partner is already claiming a full pension. Perhaps she should talk to somebody in the local social welfare office, look at the history and see whether she would be in a better position if she claimed under a different heading.

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