asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will increase the benefits payable to insured widows to make them commensurate with the payments made by them; or if he will levy insurance contributions at a lower rate on widows.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Widows' Benefits.
25.
The Deputy is, presumably, referring to the fact that a widow in insurable employment who is in receipt of a pension, whether contributory or non-contributory, may not be paid disability or unemployment benefit at the normal rate.
It is an underlying principle of the comprehensive social insurance scheme that only one type of benefit should be paid to a claimant in respect of any period even though more than one of the contingencies for which benefit is provided has arisen in that period in a particular case. This principle has, however, been departed from to the advantage of widows by the Social Welfare (Overlapping Benefits) Regulations, 1953 to 1967, under which disability or unemployment benefit can be paid in addition to widows' contributory or non-contributory pension. Under the regulations, a widow in receipt of a contributory pension at the full rate who qualifies for disability or unemployment benefit is paid half the appropriate personal rate of disability or unemployment benefit; if she is in receipt of contributory pension at a reduced rate the half-rate of disability or unemployment benefit is increased by the amount of the reduction in the pension. If her pension is non-contributory, the rate of benefit payable depends on the rate of pension and can range from half the appropriate personal rate of disability or unemployment benefit to as much as the full rate, plus appropriate adjustments in respect of any dependent children. A change in these arrangements is not contemplated.
Would the Minister agree that it appears to be inequitable that a widow should get only half the benefit when, in fact, she is paying the 100 per cent contribution the same as other people?
The widow is already given as an exception to the rule with regard to overlapping pensions. She is already in receipt of one payment from social insurance and in this case she is the particular exception being allowed to receive half the rate in addition to the pension she has already got.
It is most unfair.