Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1401. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will review matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); if he will expedite the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46594/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet essential expenditure which an eligible person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income or household and personal resources.

This support is intended to assist with once-off or exceptional expense that a person is unable to meet from their normal weekly income. ANPs are administered by Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) in the Community Welfare Service (CWS), considering the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case.

All ANP applications are considered on a case-by-case basis based on the need presenting. This entails an assessment, as opposed to a specific means test, of an applicant’s weekly household income, their savings and investments, their outgoings and the type of assistance needed.

According to the records of my Department, the person concerned initially applied for an ANP for financial assistance on 16/07/2025 to cover a period of anticipated financial burden as a result of employment incapacitation while recovering from a medical procedure. Prior to the decision on his claim being finalised, he further noted a requirement for assistance towards the costs of a new appliance.

The person concerned received two requests for additional information in support of his application on 17/07/2025 and again on the 24/07/2025. His claim was disallowed on the basis that information required by the CWO in order to make an appropriate decision on the claim made was not provided.

I have arranged for the Community Welfare Service to contact the person concerned and discuss options.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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1402. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason the bereaved partners grant only applies to those whose partner’s death occurred on or after 21 July 2025; to confirm that consideration would be given to extending this grant to those whose partners died before this date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46673/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2025 was enacted on 21 July 2025.

The provisions of the Act were as a result of a Supreme Court judgment, on 22nd January 2024, 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) was inconsistent with the Constitution insofar as it excluded the claimant from the category of persons entitled to a Widower's Contributory Pension benefit from it.

As a result of the Supreme Court decision the Department reviewed its schemes and decided that further schemes would be amended along the same lines as Widow, Widowers Widow’s, Widower’s and Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension to include Qualified Cohabitants, including the Bereaved Parent Grant.

The Bereaved Parent Grant is paid where there are dependent children at the date of death to meet the expenses in the immediate aftermath of the death. As this scheme was not at issue in the O’Meara case, its provisions had not been found to be inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore there was no basis to make the payment other than from enactment.

For any surviving qualified cohabitant who experienced a bereavement before 21 July 2025, they have six months to claim a Bereaved Partner's (Contributory) Pension and if eligible, the payment will be backdated to the 22 January 2024 or the date of death, whichever is later.