Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

604. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he is aware that entitlement to survivor's pensions was expanded to included divorced people as part of a suite of measures in the mid-1990s to ensure that "no spouse would lose out in terms of his or her social welfare entitlements on becoming divorced" (details supplied); if he still supports that policy position; the rationale for reducing the social welfare entitlements of divorced and separated people whose former partner has died in the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025; if he will explain the new and conflicting policy position adopted by his Department to the effect, that the death of an individual should only result in one claim for a bereaved partner's pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25553/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

605. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he is aware that people who suffer the loss of a second spouse or civil partner may access their original survivor's pension or rate of pension pursuant to section 124(4) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005; if he is aware that the original policy rationale behind this provision was to ensure that the "pension position of these people will be protected under legislation (details supplied); the rationale for reducing the social welfare entitlements of people who suffer the death of a second partner in the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25554/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

606. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he is aware that divorced and separated people whose former partner dies after the enactment of the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025 (as currently drafted) will no longer have an entitlement to a survivor's pension; if his Department has undertaken any risk assessment or poverty-proofing process concerning the proposals to reduce the social welfare entitlements of divorced and separated people in the 2025 Bill; the plans which are in place to mitigate the financial impact of these proposals on divorced and separated individuals and their children who suffer a bereavement after the enactment of the 2025 Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25555/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

607. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if his Department has undertaken any human rights and equality impact assessment concerning the proposals to reduce the social welfare entitlements of divorced and separated people whose former partner has died in the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025; if he is aware that undertaking such an assessment is consistent with his Department's obligations under the Public Sector Human Rights and Equality Duty; if any such assessments have included an analysis of the impact of these proposals on groups protected under the gender, civil status and family status grounds in the equality legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25556/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

610. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to outline any estimates or projections available to his Department concerning the annual cost to his Department, the Exchequer and the Social Insurance Fund of expanding the scope of widows, widower's or surviving civil partner's (contributory) pension schemes to include qualified cohabitants (as per the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25559/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

611. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to outline any estimates or projections available to his Department concerning the annual savings to his Department, the Exchequer and the Social Insurance Fund of reducing the scope of widows, widower's or surviving civil partner's (contributory) pension schemes to exclude divorced people, separated people and people who have suffered a second bereavement (as per the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25560/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 604 to 607, inclusive, 610 and 611 together.

Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a Widows, Widowers or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership, including where the marriage or civil partnership was dissolved.

As the Deputy is aware, on 22nd January 2024, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the entitlement of an unmarried cohabitant to a Widower's Contributory Pension. The Supreme Court judgment overruled a previous High Court decision and found in favour of the claimant and his children.

In simple terms, the Court found that section 124 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended) is inconsistent with the Constitution insofar as it excluded the claimant from the category of persons entitled to benefit from it. The Court reached that conclusion on the basis of the equality guarantee contained in Article 40.1 of the Constitution. In doing so, the Court had regard to existing anomalies within the scheme such as the payment of a pension to a divorced person. The Supreme Court judgment noted that to resolve the issue raised by the judgment, a legislative amendment is required.

Following Government approval, I was pleased to present the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) 2025 to Dáil Eireann in March this year. As the Deputy is aware, Second Stage concluded in Dáil Eireann on 27th March and the Bill remains before the Oireachtas for debate and progression. I look forward to its passage in early course.

Fundamentally, the Supreme Court found that the current legislation’s treatment of non-married couples was inequitable under the Constitution having regard to how other couples were treated. The effect of this is to require legislation to expand the scope of eligibility to the Widow’s, Widower’s and Surviving Civil Partner’s Pension to surviving qualified cohabitants. As the circumstances for those eligible for the scheme changes, it is also necessary to consider the approach to the loss of entitlement for all groups. This has been done having regard to the equality guarantee in the Constitution.

Arising from the Supreme Court's judgment, the underpinning basis for this legislation is one of equality and ensuring that those identified as having an entitlement to the payment are no longer treated differently, in the absence of any justifiable rationale for doing so. As a result, my Department and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel has been acutely aware of ensuring that the changes set out in the Bill are designed to treat those eligible equally and to avoid the creation of unjustifiable differences in treatment.

In the absence of removing entitlement for divorced and separated people, there is now a danger that inequalities could be repeated if the scheme were to allow a situation that divorced or separated couples, who were no longer in an ongoing relationship, were to be treated in a different manner to a couple who had previously cohabited but were no longer in an ongoing relationship.

The basis upon which earlier rules for the scheme were framed, including (a) the entitlement of divorced partners, at the time when divorce was first introduced, and, (b) rates of payment based on an earlier marriage, which as the Deputy set out was based on a policy of encouraging marriage, have now to be considered in light of new rights to the payment created for surviving qualifying cohabitants.

In this regard, it is reasonable for the Oireachtas to base the qualifying status for ongoing relationships equally on a marriage, civil partnership or a relationship of qualified cohabitation that has not ended via divorce or broken down for more than two years at the date of death.

The estimated cost of providing access to surviving qualified cohabitants to the Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is an additional €50m per year. The Department does not hold data on the likely number of future divorcees or separation of marriages (or breakdown of cohabitating relationships) who do no remarry or cohabit so no costing can be completed on any potential savings to the Exchequer or the Social Insurance Fund. However, it is reasonable to assume that any savings will be offset by the increasing number of qualified cohabitants who may be entitled to the payment.

Finally, it should be noted that the Bereaved Partner’s Contributory Pension is a contributory based payment and any person who has a financial need may qualify for an appropriate assistance payment from my Department where they meet the relevant criteria.

I trust this clarifies the matters for the Deputy.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

608. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people who were divorced or separated from their former spouse or civil partner at the time of their death who then began receiving a widows, widower's or surviving civil partner's (contributory) pension in each of the years 2019 to 2024; the number of those claims included an increase in respect of a qualified child or children; the total cost to his Department, the Exchequer and the Social Insurance Fund of providing such pensions to these cohorts in each of the five years concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25557/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension (WCP) is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. The number of claimants, or recipients, who were separated or divorced before being widowed is shown in the table below.

It is important to note that the Department does not get notified of divorces or separations, and this status may only be recorded by a welfare officer if necessary for the award of welfare benefits. As persons who are divorced or separated, and whose partner subsequently dies are currently eligible for WCP their status before being widowed does not impact the claim.

Expenditure is recorded at the scheme level, not the individual level, and it is not possible to attribute expenditure according to individual level characteristics such as prior marital status. Payments made under the social insurance system, such as WCP, are funded by contributions from employers, employees and the self-employed with any deficit met by an Exchequer subvention. While there was an Exchequer subvention of €2,606.03 million to the SIF in 2021, this is not broken down by scheme.

[^] Preliminary estimate only, subject to change.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

609. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people who suffered a second bereavement and who re-commenced receipt of a widows, widower's or surviving civil partner's (contributory) pension (or higher rate of pension) pursuant to section 124(4) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 in each of the years 2019 to 2024; the number of those claims included an increase in respect of a qualified child or children; the total cost to his Department, the Exchequer and the Social Insurance Fund of providing such pensions to these cohorts in each of the five years concerned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25558/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The statistical breakdown the Deputy has requested is not recorded or available. It is not possible for the Department to provide this information.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.