Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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1341. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason widows who work full-time and are in receipt of a widow's pension and pay PRSI and all other taxes are not eligible for normal illness benefit. [44954/25]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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1348. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason the contributory widows pension is taken into consideration as an criteria for eligibility for widows seeking a social benefit such as illness benefit; and if there are plans to remove the contributory pension from being considered when seeking said benefits. [45069/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1341 and 1348 together.

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.

The widow’s/widower’s/surviving civil partner’s pension was renamed the bereaved partner’s pension on 21 July 2025, the date of enactment of the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2025. This Act extends eligibility to a qualified cohabitant of the deceased person. The pension is a weekly payment to those who have lost their spouse, civil partner or qualified cohabitant and are covered by social insurance.

There is a general principle of one person, one payment, which applies across the social welfare system. Given the contingency-based nature of this system, it can happen that a person may experience more than one contingency at the same time but, generally, they can receive only one payment. This principle is common to social security systems across the world. Illness benefit and the bereaved partner's pension are, generally, not payable concurrently.

However, if a person is getting a reduced rate of the pension, 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, and taking account of social insurance contribution rates and the overall sustainability of the Social Insurance Fund.