Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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83. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when he intends to bring forward the Bill to support cohabiting couples by providing pensions for bereaved partners; the number of applications received for such a payment since the O’Meara case; if supplementary payments will issue to those qualified applicants in advance of the legislation passing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8577/25]

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I welcome the Minister and wish him well. As Labour Party spokesperson on social protection, I look forward to working with him over the lifetime of this Dáil.

My question is very similar to the previous one. In addition, I ask for the number of applications received for the payment since the O'Meara case and whether the Minister will consider supplementary payments to qualified applicants in advance of the passing of legislation.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I congratulate the Deputy on his election to this House. I look forward to working with him.

The State has always distinguished in a number of its laws between the rights of couples whose relationship is formalised in a marriage or civil partnership and the rights of other couples whose relationship is not formally registered. There was a backdrop to that in regard to succession, property rights and taxation. Since the Supreme Court judgment, we have been reflecting on the changes we need to make. We prioritised the drafting of necessary legislation, which underwent pre-legislative scrutiny by the previous joint Oireachtas committee on social protection. As I said, we will imminently bring a Bill to the Government. I will keep in touch with all Deputies in this regard. I acknowledge the work of Deputy Kelly in this area.

On the Deputy's specific query, we currently have 331 applications on hand. As we have just discussed, it is proposed within the general scheme of the Bill that payments will be backdated to the date of the judgment in January 2024 or, if later, the date of death.

The specific number of claims we have at present is 331.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for acknowledging the work that Deputy Alan Kelly did in relation to this. I also thank the O'Meara family for the work they did to ensure that those who are entitled to a payment can have one. It was a long road for them. They stood steadfast and got a result for many people.

As mentioned, this issue may affect over 150,000 couples. The Minister informed us that 331 applications are on file. It is my understanding, from dealing with constituents through my office, that the Department is asking people to send in an application and is holding applications on file subject to the legislation coming through. I was a member of the previous committee on social protection which discussed this. Of the 331 applications, how many date from before January 2024?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I do not have that specific figure but I will seek to provide it to the Deputy.

The analysis carried out by my Department anticipates that there will be 500 new cohabitant recipients expected annually in the initial years, with an annualised cost of approximately €50 million. It is difficult to predict those numbers with certainty. It is the Department's intention, once we have the legislation passed, to engage in an information campaign so that people who may not be aware of their entitlement will be made aware of it. We will give people the capacity to apply.

I also acknowledge the work of the O'Meara family, who had to take this case amid their grief. I thank them for that work. I will engage with them, through Deputy Kelly, in the near future.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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There is an expectation out there, as the Minister indicated. Those who have applied are waiting on the results of the O'Meara case. I am dealing with a number of people whose partners passed away before January 2024. The Minister mentioned not building up expectations. Is the Department considering making a payment to those people? Will the Minister give a commitment today that he will consider a payment for them? In my question, I asked that he consider issuing a supplementary payment. Given we are only talking about 331 applications, it is important that nobody is left behind. Following the judgment in the case taken by the O'Meara family there was an expectation that these people would qualify for a payment. The previous committee on social protection discussed at length a retrospective payment for those families who have gone through grief, as the Minister and others mentioned. Will the Minister consider a payment for those who do not qualify or even a supplementary payment for those whose partners passed away pre-January 2024?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I do not want to create an expectation that the Department will not be able to meet. While I understand where people are at, our hands our tied to the 22 January 2024 judgment date. However, there are other supports that we may be in a position to make available to families in this situation and we will look at those. However, in relation to the specific payment and backdating, I am looking at 22 January 2024 as the judgment date. I would like to engage with people around this but people have been through enough without having to respond to a false expectation. If there are cases, we will look at them and at other potential supports.