Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I welcome the Minister for Social Protection to the House to debate what we feel is an important and necessary change to the social protection system. I want to heartily welcome some visitors to the Gallery: Damien Peelo, chief executive officer of Treoir, the national federation for services for unmarried parents and their children, and some of his staff; and Johnny O'Meara and Maria Doyle, from two families affected by the situation we are debating. I wish to share time with my colleague, Senator Hoey.

There can be no doubt that the concept of family has changed and evolved in recent years in this country. Marriage rates are declining and many couples choose to build a life in a home together before considering marriage. The 2016 census showed the number of couples choosing to cohabit is increasing. There were 152,302 cohabiting couples from that census, an increase of 6% on the 2011 census. We can anticipate this figure will rise again when the 2022 census report is published. Against this changing social landscape of households, the Labour Party believe changes must be made to legislation to reflect the modern shape of our country. As a proud nation, we should take a compassionate approach to all families and provide support when it is needed most at some of the darkest hours for some families. Simply put, we must treat all our citizens fairly and equally.

Eligibility for some social welfare payments for cohabiting couples is in place. There is a comprehensive definition of "cohabiting couples" in legislation and it is used for payments such as jobseeker's allowance and carer's allowance. This leaves an unexplained and huge gap in our social protection system for those bereaved and cohabiting, and for their families. It is time to act and change this. If a partner in a cohabiting couple dies, the surviving partner has no entitlement to a widow or widower's contributory pension from the Department of Social Protection, even where the couple has been working for a considerable time and paying taxes. This is wrong and discriminates against the surviving partner and their family. It potentially discriminates further in more than 50% of these cases as the family will lose out on an €8,000 bereavement grant where children are involved.

This unacceptable outcome was brought to our attention in the Labour Party by Deputy Alan Kelly and his constituent, Johnny O'Meara. As I have said, Johnny joins us tonight in the Visitors Gallery. Johnny lost his beloved wife, Michelle, in January 2021. In the recent High Court case Johnny took against the Minister for Social Protection, Ireland and the Attorney General, the judge described Johnny and his family as being "part of a loving family in the sense in which the term 'family' is generally understood in our society". The judge described the role of the Oireachtas in the delicate exercise of decision-making in respect of finite funds, going on to say that making such decisions "is not a role which this Court can legitimately play". He said this was a matter for the Oireachtas and that is why we are here tonight. The State failed Johnny and his children when they needed it most and that must change. That was wrong then, is wrong now and must be changed to assist families like Johnny's at their time of need.

Over a long period, more and more examples of how this legislation has affected surviving partners over the years have been brought to our attention. Colleagues in the House will bring forward other heartbreaking stories but I will reference another widower typical of the many people who have contacted me in the past year, particularly in the past couple of weeks. This man lived with his partner for more than 20 years. They lived happily together until his partner was diagnosed with a cancer a few years ago. During her recovery period, the couple began to plan for a wedding both of them wanted and had dreamed of. However, his partner's disease, as in so many unfortunate cases, came back and in the short time she survived, they were unable to give the State the three months' notice required for the State papers. This man told me it was his wife he lost that day as they got to pass their church vows in the hospital where she was to die a day or so later. Unfortunately for him, he met the same obstacles when he inquired about a widower's pension as Johnny and many others have met. I could give many other examples.

We have been sent the amendment tabled by Government to effectively kick this important matter down the road for another year.We find it unacceptable that the Government has still not started a comprehensive consideration of the implications of this Bill, considering it was published over a year ago. I and colleagues can refer to many debates and questions on this matter over the last number of years. We will of course wait to hear the Minister's comments but I would ask her to consider this Bill as part of the forthcoming social welfare Bill. I ask her to ensure amendments are put down, where possible, to address this important matter. If it is not possible to do that in that timeframe, I ask her to put in place interim measures through the community welfare service, for example, to deal with this matter and provide for the many cases that colleagues across both Houses are dealing with at this time, while any further consideration is under way. For the O'Meara family and thousands of others like them, the Government needs to act. Supports must be put in place to help those who need State help, particularly at what can be one of their most heartbreaking times and hours of need.