Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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315. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will review the situation in which a co-habitating couple who are not married or in a civil partnership are not entitled to claim the widow's pension on the death of one of the couple; her views on whether there is an anomaly to qualify for the (non-contributory) widow's pension given that the assets of the cohabitating couple are considered as means; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10555/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The qualifying criteria for the widow’s pension depend on whether a person is claiming the Widow(er)’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory or Non-Contributory Pension. Each pension is payable to a widow or widower or a surviving civil partner, whose spouse or civil partner has passed away.

To qualify for the Widow(er)’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension, one must:

- be a widow, widower or surviving civil partner;

- not cohabit with another person; and

- satisfy certain social insurance conditions.

For the Widow(er)’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Non-Contributory Pension, one must:

- be a widow, widower or surviving civil partner

- not be cohabiting with another person

- pass a means test

- be habitually resident in the State

It should be noted that a Widow/er or Surviving Civil Partner with dependent children may qualify for One-Parent Family Payment.

Either form of the widow’s pension is not payable to surviving cohabiting partners who have not entered into marriage or a civil partnership with the person they were cohabiting with. Entering into a marriage or civil partnership is a legal act, which confers both rights and obligations on both parties that do not exist in law between cohabiting couples.

The legal context governing relationships such as marriage is regulated by the Minister for Justice. Aside from the wider legal issues regarding the status of marriage and civil partnerships, which is a much broader policy area than its implications for the income support schemes of my Department, extending the current provisions to people who have not undertaken equivalent legal obligations would carry significant costs and also raise significant issues about criteria if it were to be based upon cohabitation.

Therefore, any decision to extend the qualifying criteria for the widow(er)’s or surviving civil partner's pension, be it contributory or non-contributory, would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations, as well as any legal issues that may arise.

Officials in my Department are in the process of carrying out a review into the treatment of cohabiting couples in the Social Welfare system. Once complete, the report of this review will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and also be provided to the Special Committee on Gender Equality.

Under the Supplementary Allowance Scheme, the Department of Social Protection may make a single Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet from his/her weekly income, which may include assistance with bereavement expenses.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.