Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)

I rise to address an important and prominent issue, which is the issue of the payment of the widow's pension. Unfortunately, a person can become a widow or lose their spouse or cohabiting partner at any age and they then receive this widow's pension based on the stamps of their deceased spouse or partner.An issue affecting many of my constituents and people right across the country, and which has not been adequately addressed, is that people in receipt of the widow's pension cannot receive any other social welfare payment, including sick pay, invalidity benefit or invalidity pension. While those in receipt of the widow's pension are grateful for it, the payment is not enough on which to survive. Most recipients are working, particularly those who were widowed in their younger years. If they have to go on sick leave, they are not entitled to sick pay. This is discriminatory and incredibly unfair. The widow's pension is based on the contributions of the deceased partner or spouse and the amount recipients receive depends on the number of stamps paid. It is a contributory pension.

This issue has been raised previously and the answer given was that people cannot be in receipt of two welfare payments. While I take that point, it is not actually true insofar as people can be in receipt of a disability or jobseeker's payment while at the same time receiving a half carer's payment. I hope consideration will be given to allowing recipients of the widow's pension to receive a half-rate pension while in receipt of another payment, up to a limit of two years or something like that. There must be a solution to this issue. It is an anomaly that is affecting many people across the country. It is grossly unfair.