John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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125. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people in receipt of a widow’s pension who are under age 66; if he will provide an estimated cost of allowing persons in receipt of widow’s pensions to access illness benefit in the event that they get sick at work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33039/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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As at end May 2025, there are 28,574 people aged under 66 years in receipt of Widow’s / Widower’s / Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension.As at end May 2025, there are a further 980 people in receipt of Widow’s / Widower’s / Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-Contributory) Pension.Illness Benefit is the primary short term income support provided by my Department to those who are unable to work due to illness of any type and who are covered by social insurance. Eligibility for Illness Benefit depends on the person’s PRSI record and class. People must have made the required number of contributions under PRSI classes A, E, H or P to qualify.Widow’s / Widower’s / Surviving Civil Partner’s Pension (Contributory) is a weekly social insurance payment to those who have lost their spouse or civil partner and are covered by social insurance.Widow's / Widower's / Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-Contributory) Pension is a means-tested payment payable to a widow, widower or surviving civil partner who does not qualify for a contributory widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner’s payment. It is not currently possible for the Department to develop a costing in this regard as we do not have collated information on the contribution and employment status of these two separate groups, which would be crucial in estimating potential costs for these sub-population to access Illness Benefit.However, if a person is getting a reduced rate of Widow’s / Widower’s / Surviving Civil Partner’s Pension (Contributory), they may also get a reduced rate of Illness Benefit, so that the combined amount of both payments is not greater than the maximum rate of Illness Benefit to which they would otherwise be entitled.With regard to additional supports, my Department also provides an additional needs payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme to help meet essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. This includes certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from a person’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary.My Department will continue to keep its range of supports under review to ensure that they meet their overall objectives. Any changes to the current system, including those referred to in the Deputy's question, would need to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context.