David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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220. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if there will be other instances in State pension, or otherwise, in which entitlement to pension payments on death of an LGBT spouse or a widow's pension payment is disregarded due to the inability to enter into a civil partnership or marriage, in view of the fact the law to provide such was not yet enacted and in view of the facts of a recent case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38314/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am informed that the case referred to by the Deputy is an occupational pension scheme, which had a requirement that potential payees under the Widows benefits element be notified before a certain time. I understand that the European Court of Justice very recently ruled that there was no discrimination involved in the case.

Entering into a marriage or civil partnership is a legal act, which confers both rights and obligations on both parties. Widows, widowers and surviving civil partners who become bereaved, therefore, in addition to the personal loss of their life partner, also lose someone who had legal duties towards them, and depending on the circumstances, may suffer financial loss as a result of that bereavement. It is on this basis that the social welfare code provides a pension to them, subject to certain conditions.

This scheme has evolved over time. While originally just for widows, an equivalent payment was subsequently introduced for widowers. More recently, with the introduction of civil partnership, my Department extended an equivalent support to surviving civil partners from 2011, when the provisions of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 came into force. The scheme now also includes bereaved spouses of legally married same-sex couples.

While the introduction of marriage equality legislation is a welcome step forward, it cannot have the effect of making previous relationships, which ended through bereavement before its introduction, marriages in the legal sense. It is not possible legally to retrospectively marry people, or to make them civil partners after the death of one of the couple.

There is no age criteria attached to the Widows, widowers and surviving civil partner’s pension, or criteria requiring such a marriage or civil partnership to have been entered into before a certain age. Provided a person was legally married or in a civil partnership at the time of the bereavement, and provided the other conditions such as PRSI are met, a person may qualify for a payment.

As regards the State pension, a pensioner’s partner may qualify for an Increase for a Qualified Adult if they are wholly or mainly maintained by them. This payment can be made regardless of whether they are married, in a civil partnership, or simply cohabiting. A cohabitant is one of two adults (whether of the same or opposite sex) who live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship and who are not close relatives.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.