Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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300. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will consider allowing those on primary social welfare payments, such as disability allowance, to receive half rate payments on bereaved partners pension, or vice versa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49498/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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There is a general principle of one person-one payment that applies across our 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.

As a result, in the case of a person in receipt of the Bereaved Partner's Pension, they cannot then be in receipt of an overlapping second payment, for example Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension, at the same time. They may, in the case where a customer is getting a reduced rate of Bereaved Partners Pension, get a reduced rate of Illness Benefit. In this case, the combined amount of both payments cannot be greater than the rate of Illness Benefit to which they are entitled.

People might be eligible to receive one of the following supports in addition to their Bereaved Partner’s Pension: Working Family Payment, Living Alone Increase, Fuel Allowance or Household Benefits Package depending on their living circumstances, their age and any applicable eligibility conditions. More information on overlapping payments and eligibility is available at gov.ie.

My Department operates the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, administered by the Community Welfare Service, which provides a number of supports and services to help people facing financial hardship. Under this scheme, the Department may make an additional needs payment to meet essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The payment is available to anyone who needs it and qualifies, whether the person is currently on a social welfare payment or working on a low income.

Any changes to the underlying one person-one payment principle would however involve significant additional expenditure which could prove unsustainable in the long-term, and would have to be considered in the overall policy and budgetary context.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.