Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2022
344. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of expanding eligibility for cohabiting couples to all social welfare benefits on the same basis for married couples; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38376/22]
View answerClaimants with cohabiting partners are recognised within the social welfare system as having additional needs in cases where their cohabiting partner is financially dependent upon them. The payment of an Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) in addition to the personal rate of payment reflects these additional household needs.
The IQA is payable in respect of a person who is wholly or mainly maintained by the customer, subject to a means test, regardless of whether the couple are married or not. Where one member of a cohabiting couple claims a means-tested social assistance payment, their partner's income is taken into account in the means test.
In regard to schemes, neither the Widow(er)’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory nor the Non-Contributory Pension are payable to surviving cohabiting partners who have not entered into marriage or a civil partnership with the person they were cohabiting with. Entering into a marriage or civil partnership is a legal act, which confers both rights and obligations on both parties that do not exist in law between cohabiting couples.
The legal context governing relationships such as marriage is regulated by the Minister for Justice. Aside from the wider legal issues regarding the status of marriage and civil partnerships, which is a much broader policy area than its implications for the income support schemes of my Department, extending the current provisions to people who have not undertaken equivalent legal obligations would carry significant costs. Estimating the extent of the costs is not currently possible. It would also raise significant issues about eligibility criteria if these were to be based upon cohabitation
Therefore, any decision to extend the qualifying criteria for the widow(er)’s or surviving civil partner's pension, be it contributory or non-contributory, would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations, as well as any legal issues that may arise.
It should be noted that a Widow/er or Surviving Civil Partner with dependent children may qualify for One-Parent Family Payment.
