Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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763. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) was not paid the six week payment following the death of the person's spouse; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15527/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Where a person in receipt of disability allowance (DA) dies and he/she was claiming a qualified adult allowance then payment at both the personal and qualified adult rate continues to be made to the surviving spouse for six weeks after death. If a DA client dies and his/her surviving spouse is in receipt of a social welfare payment in their own right, then the surviving spouse is entitled to receive six weeks of their deceased spouse's payment in addition to their own.

Due to the current pandemic, DA is temporarily being paid in advance fortnightly. In this case the deceased person had received an additional week's payment prior to their date of death. The remaining five weeks after death payment has issued by cheque to the spouse of the person concerned on 8 July 2020.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.