Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Questions of changes to the arrangements about annulments, divorces or similar situations are not appropriate to this Act. Those matters must be settled in the Civil Liability Acts. A former wife's compensation entitlement is a matter for the courts. It is likely that the person who is entitled to maintenance would have a claim and unless a person specifies in his or her will that somebody is exempt that person may not be exempt. In a situation pertaining particularly to pension entitlements whereby a person originally married to another took out a pension, whether in both names or in his or her name, and did not specify later at divorce or annulment proceedings that the spouse was not entitled to benefit from that pension on the death of the contributor, or of the main partner, if there was such a thing, the second partner could claim but this is not relevant to this Act. The Civil Liability Acts would have to use this for a conclusive adjudication. However, given that the Senator has raised the matter, about which we would all have questions, I will bring it to the attention of our officials and I hope we can clarify the issue during the Bill's passage through the Dáil.