Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte ar ais romhat a Cheann Comhairle. Bhí tú sa Chathaoir cúpla uair ó shin. I will raise a few matters with the Minister. We have always had quite a good, constructive relationship. However, I need to respond to some of the points raised by an Teachta Cathal Crowe. He is not present in the Chamber. He is well able to dish it out but whether he can take it is a whole other question. The world and its mother can grasp Sinn Féin's pensions policy but clearly an Teachta Crowe cannot. I am more than happy to explain it to him so that he can grasp it. I also note his concern for the people of the North. It is refreshing to hear that from Fianna Fáil but, as far as Deputy Crowe is concerned, I am sure that it is all chat and absolutely no action. Again, it is disappointing that he did not hang around to hear some of the responses to his claims and his excitement.

I will return to a few of the issues I would like to raise with the Minister. The issue of cohabiting couples is one I have also raised with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, during the debate on the Finance Bill. As the Minister for Social Protection knows, cohabiting couples are assessed together for social welfare purposes but it is different when it comes to tax reliefs. Married couples get the tax relief but cohabiting couples do not. In fairness to the Minister for Finance, I had quite a good engagement with him on it. He said there were some issues in respect of certain court cases. It would be an interesting measure to look at, however. I note the Minister for Social Protection said in her statement yesterday that she had tried to take on board some of the suggestions made last year. It may be worth looking at the fact that cohabiting couples are assessed together for social welfare purposes but not when it comes to tax relief. That just does not seem fair.

This is increasingly becoming an issue. Since I raised it, more people have contacted me regarding it. It raises real issues for those who are cohabiting. For example, one woman contacted me who was cohabiting with her husband while they went through a divorce. Of course, the housing situation means it is more difficult for people to be able to leave but the divorce was not on amicable terms and the joint assessment required by the Department of Social Protection made life very difficult for her because of her situation. As her soon-to-be ex-husband did not engage with this assessment, she was caught in limbo and was in a difficult financial position. This situation has also arisen a number of times in respect of pensioners and so on. Given the fact that cohabitation is treated differently in terms of tax and social welfare, it would be an interesting to see whether it could be considered for next year.

I will also flag the waiting times for claims. Other people have also raised this issue. I know of one lady on disability allowance who was reassessed and had to wait two months to get her payment. It is obviously backdated but the point is she was left in a very vulnerable position.

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