Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputies Boyd Barrett and O'Gorman.

I too took a huge interest in this Bill when I saw it come up because of people I know who have been in this situation.

3 o’clock

I am delighted that there will be a change whereby cohabitees will now be considered equal to people who are married because they feel the exact same impact from a bereavement. I really welcome that. We need to see other changes along those lines. Of course, that change only came about because somebody took a case. That was a very brave decision; fair play to him. He was supported by Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC.

I am absolutely gobsmacked and deeply disappointed that a new discrimination is going to be introduced through this bereaved partners Bill. A person who was divorced or separated will now not be able to get the bereaved partner's pension. It should be borne in mind that such people may have been co-parenting, sharing children who may be in full-time education, and that their income will be dramatically affected. They may have had shared arrangements regarding custody and care of children. That partner dying is a great loss. It is probably exactly the same as if they were married. The Minister is now proposing to discriminate against such bereaved partners and their children. People who were in a relationship or who were cohabiting and who did not have any children will now be able to get this payment. I completely and fully agree with that. However, people who do have children but who were separated or divorced will not be. How does that make any sense? What is the Government's rationale for this? I do not see how it is even legal. This Bill came about because of a case being taken on grounds of inequality and now the Government is introducing another inequality. I ask the Minister to look at this a second time because it will be devastating for many bereaved partners.

FLAC has commented on the Bill. It welcomes the expansion of the entitlement to social welfare aimed at cohabiting parents and their children, which it fought for. However, it believes the Bill goes against the Chief Justice's judgment in the O'Meara case and the recommendations of the Oireachtas social protection committee. It notes the committee recommended "retaining the current entitlement of divorced and separated partners to a survivor’s pension and ... [expanding] it to surviving qualified cohabitants". The Minister is doing the exact opposite. The O'Meara judgment mentioned “the rights of all children, and obligations of their parents, irrespective of the status of their parents", so the Minister is going against that judgment as well. I am absolutely gobsmacked that the Minister would try to justify this. The financial impact the death of a parent has on families is great. It is difficult to see any justification for the introduction of laws that treat children in different ways. We are now going to discriminate against children whose parents are divorced or separated while accepting children whose parents were cohabiting. What is the Minister's rationale for this? It really defies belief.

Another thing bereaved partners are entitled to if their children are in full-time education is a funeral grant. We all know that the cost of a funeral can go into the thousands depending on the type of funeral arrangements you make. Will that also go? At this current moment in time, that is linked to the bereaved partner's grant.

Another issue I will raise with the Minister relates to a section in the Bill that talks about people being in intimate relationships. The Minister or the Department is to make a judgment as to whether people are in intimate relationships. Are interviews to be conducted with them or what?

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