Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I wish to discuss the rule that excludes widows and widowers from receiving illness benefit solely because they are in receipt of a widower's pension, notwithstanding the fact that they have returned to work and are paying all of their PRSI contributions. The Minister of State will be aware that illness benefit is a contribution-based process. If somebody has returned to work and has made their PRSI payments, and then through unfortunate circumstances has to leave work because of an illness, I do not see any reason they should not be entitled to an illness benefit.

There is nothing like a cold, hard case to drive home a point so let me underline a case in my constituency. There was a young woman who at the age of 30 lost her husband through tragic circumstances. After a period of having to deal with everything that is involved in those circumstances and having to tend to her children's needs, she went back to work. Unfortunately, after a number of months the same woman fell ill herself and had to take time off work to take care of herself. Because she was in receipt of a widow's pension, she was not entitled to illness benefit. I find this grossly unfair and it is a gap that we need to resolve. If it is not traumatic enough that a family has to go through the death of a partner and in the event that the surviving partner falls ill , which while it might be uncommon, is not rare, that partner is now putting their own family circumstances into fierce financial hardship. This woman in particular, having done everything right and despite all the odds, goes back to work tries to provide for her family is left in circumstances where she is clearly falling below the poverty line, yet is not entitled to anything. Surely in a system that is fair and proportionate we can revise that rule and ensure that when this happens we as a Government are there for people in these circumstances.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for addressing this. She has certainly outlined a hardship case. It is hard to disagree with her description of it as a gap in the system that needs to be addressed. I will just outline the current situation and then perhaps from there we can bring this back to the Minister for Social Protection to ensure he is aware of anomalies.

I will first provide an overview of the supports available to widows, widowers, surviving civil partners and qualified cohabitants, and the Illness benefit scheme. The widow’s, widower’s, and surviving civil partner’s pension was renamed as the bereaved partner’s pension on 21 July 2025, the date of enactment of the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025. This Act extends eligibility to a qualified cohabitant of the deceased person. The bereaved partner’s pension is a weekly payment to those who have lost their spouse, civil partner or qualified cohabitant and are covered by social insurance.

To qualify for this pension, either the person claiming or their late spouse, civil partner or qualified cohabitant must have a certain number of PRSI contributions and they must not be in a cohabiting relationship. As of August 2025, there were approximately 127,400 people on the scheme. The estimated expenditure for 2025 is approximately €1.9 billion.

The bereaved partner’s non-contributory pension is a means-tested payment payable to a person who does not qualify for the contributory version of the scheme. As of August 2025, there were approximately 1,000 people on the scheme. The estimated expenditure for 2025 is approximately €12 million.

The bereaved parent grant is a once-off payment designed to assist with the income support needs of a bereaved partner with dependent children immediately following the death of his or her spouse or partner. The current rate of payment is €8,000.

Illness benefit is the primary short-term income support provided by the Department of Social Protection to those who are unable to work due to illness of any type and who are covered by social insurance. Eligibility for illness benefit depends on the person’s PRSI record and class. As of August 2025, approximately 52,600 people were in receipt of illness benefit. The estimated expenditure for 2025 is approximately €700 million.

With regard to persons in receipt of the bereaved partner's pension being also able to access iIIness benefit, there is a general principle of one person, one payment, which applies across the social welfare system. Given the contingency-based nature of this system, it can happen that a person may experience more than one contingency at the same time but, generally, they can receive only one payment. This principle is common to social security systems across the world. Therefore, in general, illness benefit is not payable concurrently with these pensions. However, if a person is getting a reduced rate of the bereaved partner's pension, they may also get a reduced rate of illness benefit so that the combined amount of both payments reaches the maximum rate of illness benefit to which they would otherwise be entitled.

The supplementary welfare allowance is a means-tested payment for persons struggling financially and can be accessed by customers through their local Intreo office. An exceptional needs payment may also be available to help meet essential, once-off expenditure a person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income.

There is also statutory sick leave for persons in employment. Workers have an entitlement to five statutory sick pay days in a year. Under the scheme, sick pay may be paid by an employer at 70% of a person’s normal pay, up to a maximum of €110 a day.

The Department of Social Protection will continue to keep its range of supports under review to ensure that they meet their overall objectives. I guess that is the chink of light Deputy Butterly might take from that. The Department will keep its schemes under review. As the Deputy can see, there is a principle of one payment per person, a principle that has long existed. In fairness, the Deputy has highlighted a situation very few would find themselves in. I would imagine it would not be a significant or massive cost to the Exchequer to expand it for those types of situations, especially considering the hardship someone like the Deputy's constituent has been through. I will certainly bring that feedback to the Minister for Social Protection.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. In fact, I welcome the widening of the eligibility in regard to who does and does not qualify for a widow's pension. That, in itself, was an anomaly that was highlighted through a campaign in the press due to that widower. Let us reflect for a moment on the fact that, as the Minister of State said, if somebody is in receipt of a reduced widow's pension, they may also be entitled to a reduced illness benefit so that the combined sum reaches the maximum rate of illness benefit they would otherwise be entitled to. That, in itself, is not sufficient. It does not address the fact that due to tragic circumstances, be it illness or whatever, a household often goes from earning two incomes to earning only one. Very often in those circumstances, even though the widow's or widower's pension is welcome, it does not sufficiently fill the gap that was not there when there were two household incomes. We need to fill that gap because if we are giving half of one and half of the other, we are still back to square one. I see no reason why, if somebody is back at work making their PRSI contributions, they are not entitled to the illness benefit. I am delighted to hear that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, will look into this and review it. I firmly hope he will address and resolve it.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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As I referred to in my opening statement, the social system operates on the general principle of one person, one payment. This approach is a standard feature of social security systems throughout the world. It means that, generally, the bereaved partner's pension cannot be received at the same time as illness benefit. I know it is probably no comfort, but my earlier contribution also referred to the option of the supplementary welfare allowance. If an individual is struggling to make mortgage repayments or if the cost of rent or other household goods exceeds income, there is that option, but I get the point. That is very much a last resort, which we should be trying to avoid in all cases, and there should be some safety net in place.

I emphasise that I fully recognise the challenges that widows, widowers, surviving civil partners and qualified cohabitants, especially those with children, face. As I have said, and this is the important point we need to take away from this discussion, the Department of Social Protection will continue to keep its range of supports under review. Any changes to the current system would need to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context, taking account of the social insurance contribution rates and the overall sustainability of the Social Insurance Fund.

That being said, I outlined in the earlier statement the overall costs of a lot of these schemes, with the bigger scheme costing about €1.9 billion. I am not the Minister but I will certainly bring this feedback to the Minister, Deputy Calleary. However, on amendments like this, where we are trying to cater for someone who is very vulnerable or has experienced extreme loss, I do not believe the cost and significance would be detrimental to the overall State coffers. That, again, is a message I will bring back to the Minister and, as the Deputy said, a lot of these schemes are always under review.