Vol. 1063 No. 6
82. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the terms of the widow's or widower's pension, particularly in respect of non-married or cohabiting couples, and the judgment of the Supreme Court on 22 January 2024; the expected timeline in terms of the legislative changes that are required in respect of this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9018/25]
I welcome the Minister and wish him the very best in his new role. I very much look forward to working with him in a constructive way, which, as he knows from our previous engagements, is how I work. I will not say it is my trademark; I am sure he knows what I mean.
My question is a very straightforward one. It relates to the Supreme Court judgment issued in January 2024. I am looking for information on the timeline for legislation. If the Minister would also speak a little on backdating of payments, that would be useful.
I congratulate the Deputy on her new role and wish her well. I look forward to working with all Deputies in my role in the Department of Social Protection.
Under the law as currently enacted, entitlement to a widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner’s contributory pension is only available to a surviving partner who was party to a marriage or civil partnership. However, as the Deputy is aware, on 22 January 2024, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the entitlement of an unmarried cohabitant to a widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's contributory pension. The Supreme Court judgment found in favour of the claimant, Mr. O'Meara, and his children. In simple terms, the court found that section 124 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended, is inconsistent with the Constitution insofar as it excluded Mr. O'Meara from the category of persons entitled to benefit from it. The court reached that conclusion on the basis of the equality guarantee contained in Article 40.1 of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court judgment notes that to resolve the issue raised by its judgment, a legislative amendment is required. In June 2024, the then Government approved the priority drafting of the legislative changes required. The general scheme of a Bill was referred to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, OPC, for priority drafting and to the joint committee on social protection. The draft legislation raised a number of complex issues that require the advice of the Attorney General. There is ongoing engagement. A stamped draft of the Bill has been received. I intend to bring it to the Government imminently in order to obtain approval for its introduction.
I will deal with the other issue the Deputy raised in our subsequent exchanges. I acknowledge the work of Deputy Kelly, in particular, and of Deputy Buckley, who have consistently raised this issue with me in the weeks since my appointment.
The Minister's news is very welcome. If he could put a date on "imminently", it would be even more welcome. He referenced the case taken by John O'Meara. In the aftermath of that case, which he won, Mr. O'Meara was reported as saying, "We are all equal as regards families." However, all families will not be equal until the legislation goes through. This will impact on 150,000 cohabiting couples. I am dealing with cases in my office, as I am sure the Minister is, where people are grieving following the death of their cohabiting partner. When they try to claim whatever form of social welfare they might be entitled to, they find their assessment is based on the previous year, when they had two incomes. The system is very dismissive of their grief. Their relationship - their family - is real, yet the State does not recognise it. I know it is not lost on the Minister, as is often said, that the Department would be quick enough to go after people if they owed money back to the State. I hope he will address the matter of backdating. According to Treoir, there are people in this situation who have had to sell their homes in order to keep themselves afloat.
I absolutely agree that grief does not distinguish, including in the circumstances we are discussing. Under the draft legislation, it is proposed that a person who becomes eligible for the scheme will be able to claim, irrespective of the date of death of his or her partner. It is also proposed that the claims will be backdated to the date of the judgment, which is 22 January 2024, that found the existing law to be inconsistent with the Constitution. Where the death preceded that date, it is not proposed to backdate payments prior to the date of the judgment. This approach reflects established principles on payments where provision is found to be unconstitutional. There are other supports available to people. If there are cases arising, I will deal with them with Deputy O'Reilly or any Deputy. Deputy Wall has tabled a similar question on this issue.
With regard to backdating, my concern is not just in respect of the case taken by John O'Meara. There are cases in the system that predate the judgment. Will the Minister give some consideration to those people, as well as people who are experiencing issues on an individual basis? I do not imagine the numbers will be huge. However, we have seen a large increase in the number of cohabiting couples. This issue needs to be fixed for the future. I imagine that, looking back, we are not talking about a huge number of people, but we could be talking about an awful lot of hardship. I understand the logic of backdating to the date of the judgment but there will be cases that are in the system and it would not be fair to those people to tell them they must go all the way to the Supreme Court to get the backdating. Some consideration might be given to setting up a high-level group to troubleshoot those cases, all of which will be individual. I genuinely do not think we will be looking at large numbers. However, we are talking about people who have suffered real and extreme hardship. As the Minister said, grief does not discriminate. These people were bereaved and they found themselves on the wrong side of a law that was very unequal and unfair.
I would not like to create an expectation. I want to be very careful. People are going through enough without me creating false expectations. We will look at the kinds of cases involved and the figures to see whether there is some way forward. I do not have any flexibility regarding the date of backdating, which is the date of the judgment. However, I want to try to be flexible. People are going through a terrible enough journey without inflexibility adding to their burden.
83. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection when he intends to bring forward the Bill to support cohabiting couples by providing pensions for bereaved partners; the number of applications received for such a payment since the O’Meara case; if supplementary payments will issue to those qualified applicants in advance of the legislation passing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8577/25]
I welcome the Minister and wish him well. As Labour Party spokesperson on social protection, I look forward to working with him over the lifetime of this Dáil.
My question is very similar to the previous one. In addition, I ask for the number of applications received for the payment since the O'Meara case and whether the Minister will consider supplementary payments to qualified applicants in advance of the passing of legislation.
I congratulate the Deputy on his election to this House. I look forward to working with him.
The State has always distinguished in a number of its laws between the rights of couples whose relationship is formalised in a marriage or civil partnership and the rights of other couples whose relationship is not formally registered. There was a backdrop to that in regard to succession, property rights and taxation. Since the Supreme Court judgment, we have been reflecting on the changes we need to make. We prioritised the drafting of necessary legislation, which underwent pre-legislative scrutiny by the previous joint Oireachtas committee on social protection. As I said, we will imminently bring a Bill to the Government. I will keep in touch with all Deputies in this regard. I acknowledge the work of Deputy Kelly in this area.
On the Deputy's specific query, we currently have 331 applications on hand. As we have just discussed, it is proposed within the general scheme of the Bill that payments will be backdated to the date of the judgment in January 2024 or, if later, the date of death.
The specific number of claims we have at present is 331.
I thank the Minister for acknowledging the work that Deputy Alan Kelly did in relation to this. I also thank the O'Meara family for the work they did to ensure that those who are entitled to a payment can have one. It was a long road for them. They stood steadfast and got a result for many people.
As mentioned, this issue may affect over 150,000 couples. The Minister informed us that 331 applications are on file. It is my understanding, from dealing with constituents through my office, that the Department is asking people to send in an application and is holding applications on file subject to the legislation coming through. I was a member of the previous committee on social protection which discussed this. Of the 331 applications, how many date from before January 2024?
I do not have that specific figure but I will seek to provide it to the Deputy.
The analysis carried out by my Department anticipates that there will be 500 new cohabitant recipients expected annually in the initial years, with an annualised cost of approximately €50 million. It is difficult to predict those numbers with certainty. It is the Department's intention, once we have the legislation passed, to engage in an information campaign so that people who may not be aware of their entitlement will be made aware of it. We will give people the capacity to apply.
I also acknowledge the work of the O'Meara family, who had to take this case amid their grief. I thank them for that work. I will engage with them, through Deputy Kelly, in the near future.
There is an expectation out there, as the Minister indicated. Those who have applied are waiting on the results of the O'Meara case. I am dealing with a number of people whose partners passed away before January 2024. The Minister mentioned not building up expectations. Is the Department considering making a payment to those people? Will the Minister give a commitment today that he will consider a payment for them? In my question, I asked that he consider issuing a supplementary payment. Given we are only talking about 331 applications, it is important that nobody is left behind. Following the judgment in the case taken by the O'Meara family there was an expectation that these people would qualify for a payment. The previous committee on social protection discussed at length a retrospective payment for those families who have gone through grief, as the Minister and others mentioned. Will the Minister consider a payment for those who do not qualify or even a supplementary payment for those whose partners passed away pre-January 2024?
I do not want to create an expectation that the Department will not be able to meet. While I understand where people are at, our hands our tied to the 22 January 2024 judgment date. However, there are other supports that we may be in a position to make available to families in this situation and we will look at those. However, in relation to the specific payment and backdating, I am looking at 22 January 2024 as the judgment date. I would like to engage with people around this but people have been through enough without having to respond to a false expectation. If there are cases, we will look at them and at other potential supports.
84. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he intends to abolish the means test for the carer’s allowance; if this will be phased out; if he can provide a detailed timeline for it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9019/25]
This is a subject we discussed at length during the most recent election. I am pleased that, due to pressure from the organisations representing carers and from members of the Opposition, including my party, the two parties that now make up two thirds of the Government committed to the abolition of the means test for carers. As yet, we do not have a detailed timeline in relation to that. My question relates to the means by which this will be done, and the timeline.
The carer’s allowance is the main scheme by which my Department provides income support to carers in the community. There are currently 98,311 people in receipt of carer's allowance. Expenditure on the scheme in 2025 is estimated at over €1.24 billion.
The primary objective of the carer's allowance payment is to provide an income support to people whose earning capacity is substantially reduced. In the case of other payments to people aged under 66, this may be because the person is ill, disabled or becomes unemployed. In the case of carer’s allowance, it is to acknowledge that a person cannot work full-time owing to his or her caring responsibilities.
We have made a number of significant improvements to income thresholds in the means test in recent years. In July this year, the weekly income disregard for carer's allowance will increase from €450 to €625 for a single person and from €900 to €1,250 for carers with a spouse or partner. This amounts to cumulative increases to the disregards of €292.50 and €585, respectively, since June 2022, an 88% increase.
As the Deputy said, the programme for Government sets out a timeline which commits to continue to increase the income disregards for carer’s allowance in each budget, with a view, subject to budgetary space, to ultimately phasing out the means test during the lifetime of this Government. This is a significant commitment, costing a minimum of €600 million per annum. That figure is based on existing claimants of carer's allowance who would qualify for a higher payment, plus existing recipients of domiciliary care allowance and the carer's support grant who would become eligible if the means test was removed. This also assumes new claim inflows remain unchanged. However, the cost stretches to a potential €3 billion per annum if everybody who self-declared as a carer in census 2022 was to qualify.
Most important, I want to make progress but we have to make it in a way that is sustainable and that balances the allocation of the available budgetary resources each year across all priorities. That is why we have committed to a measured and phased approach over the five budgets we plan to deliver in the lifetime of this Government.
I will have to substantially redefine my understanding of what a significant commitment means if that is what the Minister believes it means. I asked for a detailed timeline and what I got instead from the Minister was a very watery indication that he might at some point do something. We talked at lot about this during the election. The commitment was given and carers need to know it will happen.
In March 2024, the previous Minister announced an interdepartmental group on carers. I have not seen its report, if it has been published. As of last week, I had not seen it. That report needs to be published. If it has not been published, can the Minister commit to its publication?
The Minister referred to a figure of €3 billion. We all read that figure in the media. I have not seen a detailed breakdown. The figure of €3 billion, as the Minister said, refers to where every single person doing any kind of caring declares themselves. The Minister knows that will not be the figure, so it is a red herring that has been put out there.
The Minister needs to be clear that this is a commitment given by the Government and that it will be done by the end of the Dáil term. That is not what he said in his reply. He said he might try. Carers deserve that commitment. They save the State approximately €20 billion each year. The State needs them and they need to know the Minister will look after them.
We have been clear that we will increase the income disregards for carer's allowance in each budget. It is our intention to phase out the means test during the lifetime of this Government. We were clear on that in the programme for Government and I am clear on it as Minister for Social Protection.
I value the work of carers, which is incredibly important, but I would be wrong to say we will do this by a certain date. We have five budgets. We will engage with the carers organisations as we prepare for the first budget, and with carers generally. I will engage with the Oireachtas committee on social protection, when it is formed, on this issue.
This is a priority for me and the Government. I am confident that we will be able to fulfil our commitment, but budgets have to be negotiated each year. I assure the Deputy and carers that carers will be a priority. As we negotiate our budget priorities each year, this commitment will be a priority.
According to Family Carers Ireland, three in four of the family carers it surveyed indicated that the people they support do not receive sufficient formal support and 72% had never received any respite. The Minister should think about how his words will sound to a person who is stuck at home and does not have access to respite, as is the case for most people. As the Minister knows, that is because the waiting lists are chronic and the lack of staff is causing severe distress for people.
The Minister gave a commitment that it would be phased back and he is walking it back now and saying he will do his best in negotiations and the budget has to be negotiated. Will he give an indication of how he will get it phased out? If this Government does run its full term, and I think I am not the only person in this State who wishes that it will not, is he saying definitively that by its end the means test for carers will be abolished? Is he confident that will be the case? That is the kind of rhetoric that he and his party engaged in during the run up to the election.
No one has an exclusive concern for carers. The last Government did a great deal of work in increasing the income disregard and the carer’s support grant. I intend to engage with all the carers organisations around that. I am very focused on the work they do and the burden they face on a daily basis. There is a commitment in the programme for Government that we will phase out the means test over the lifetime of the Government. I do not know where we will be this time next year or this time two years in relation to budgetary allocations. It is my intention to deliver on the programme for Government commitment in relation to carers that we will, over the course of five years, phase out the income disregard.
On the Deputy’s other query about the report, I hope to receive that in the next few weeks and we will consider that. I would like to see it debated at the committee on social protection and, most importantly, would like to see a debate with the carers groups and the carers themselves around that report.
85. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to include healthcare workers suffering with long Covid symptoms within the occupational injuries benefit scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8935/25]
I welcome the Minister and congratulate him on his appointment.
A cohort of healthcare workers with severe long Covid who contracted the virus at the height of the pandemic in high-risk settings are suffering with chronic disabling symptoms and have not been able to return to work as a result. I know this because in my previous role as a psychologist I worked with many of these workers. Some have been out of work for four years and nearly up to five years. Will the Minister grant these workers who sacrificed so much on behalf of all of us, who are now paying an enormous price with their quality of life, the financial security of an occupational injury scheme?
I thank the Deputy and congratulate him on his election. I look forward to working with him.
In November 2023, the Department of Social Protection published a report on the inclusion of long Covid in the occupational injuries benefit regulations. This report concluded that Covid-19 did not satisfy the statutory criteria for recognition as an occupational illness or accident at work. Specifically, it found that presumptions about workplace transmission would not be sustainable as it is not possible to establish with confidence that the disease has been contracted through a person's occupation and not through community transmission. This is because the data that was available showed that community transmission was the primary means of transmission. However, the Department of Social Protection's range of income supports, including illness benefit and invalidity pension, at the same or higher rates of payment as occupational injuries benefit, are available to people who cannot work due to the effects of long Covid.
With specific reference to employees in the health services the report found that the temporary scheme of paid leave for public health service employees was the appropriate channel through which a targeted sectoral support should be considered. A temporary scheme is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for public expenditure. That scheme has been extended a number of times, most recently to conclude on 30 June 2025. Any employee remaining unwell after that date may utilise the full provisions of the public service sick leave scheme which will provide further support.
I understand what people are going through with this condition. As a House, and as the Oireachtas, we should do more work on this condition and I look forward to working with the Deputy on that.
The long-term prognosis for these healthcare workers is very unclear. They often suffer from a range of symptoms which include debilitating fatigue and malaise after very modest levels of activity and there is no clear treatment pathway for them. In some cases, healthcare workers have been out of work for between four and five years. Many were infected in early January 2021 following the so-called meaningful Christmas in which restrictions on movement were crudely lifted by the Government against public health expert advice, resulting in spiralling infection rates. That is something the State really needs to take into account. Many healthcare workers now afflicted with long Covid were particularly exposed to infection at the most critical stages of the pandemic in the course of providing vital care to others. This was at a time when many other workers were being protected by working from home. Some were not equipped with adequate PPE and many had not yet been called for vaccination at the time of infection. The State has a duty to look after them.
My own Department has 78 people in receipt of illness benefit with a Covid-related certification. Covid-related claims account for 0.6% of all illness benefit claims that were awarded so far this year. As well as illness benefit, my Department provides an invalidity pension and a disability allowance scheme for those who cannot work due to an illness or disability. That includes those who have not recovered following a Covid-19-related illness. I do not have statistics for the number of persons on these schemes who are suffering from long-Covid as there are often multiple conditions in the application process. My Department is available to try to support people through the invalidity pension and through the disability allowance if that can be done.
On the temporary extensions of the special Covid leave with pay, these healthcare workers should not have to endure repeated last-minute cliff-edge moments regarding their financial security. They are being left in limbo for months on end while talks between trade unions, Departments and the HSE have remained at an impasse. They often do not know if they will be able to pay their mortgage in a matter of weeks. This is chronic stress heaped on so many other challenges. It is utterly heartless of the Departments of Health and Social Protection to put them through this. An occupational injuries scheme for healthcare workers afflicted with long Covid has been recommended by the EU strategic framework on health and safety at work. Healthcare workers with severe long Covid should be provided with pay security by the State into the future to remove financial stress from the many other challenges they face.
The temporary scheme of paid leave for public health service employees was identified in the report my Department published in November 2023 as the appropriate channel to target specific supports for employees in our health services. That scheme is being dealt with by the Minister for public expenditure. He has extended it. I will bring the Deputy’s concerns to him about its future extension and maintenance and running.
86. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Social Protection the detail of how and when he intends to implement the Programme for Government commitment to abolish the income limit for the carer’s allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8927/25]
I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and wish him well in the Department.
Both Government parties in their election manifestos committed to the abolition of the means test for the carer’s allowance. The public believed when those parties formed a Government that the means test would be abolished, if not immediately then certainly in the 2026 budget in October. There seems to be no clarity about that now and I ask for clarity on that today.
I thank the Deputy and congratulate him and welcome him back to the House.
Carer’s allowance is an important income support for people who have caring responsibilities. That is clear from the fact that there are nearly 99,000 people in receipt of the payment and expenditure on the scheme in 2025 is estimated to be over €1.24 billion.
In common with other welfare payments to people aged under 66 years the purpose of the payment is to provide an income support to people whose earning capacity is substantially reduced. In the case of other payments that may be because the person is ill or disabled or becomes unemployed. In the case of carer's allowance, it is to acknowledge the person cannot work full-time due to their caring duties and responsibilities.
A number of significant improvements have been made to the income thresholds in the means test in recent years. Those thresholds, as I said to Deputy O’Reilly, have increased by 88% since 2022 and now amount to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple. That means that a couple earning over €95,000 per annum would still qualify for a partial payment.
Recognising the important work of family carers, the programme for Government commits to continue to increase the income disregards for carer's allowance in each budget with a view to phasing out the means test completely during the lifetime of this Government. The work that has been done with an increase of over 88% since 2022 gives a good indication of where we intend to go on that.
The reason we must phase that commitment is because we must manage the available resources to balance the objective of supporting carers with other priorities, including supporting other groups who are supported by the Department. The means test has significant cost potential but I have to balance that with other priorities.
Nevertheless, I assure the Deputy and the House that carers are a priority. I very much value and appreciate the work they do, and this is a priority for the Government and for me, as Minister.
I thank the Minister for the reply, but we still have no clarity on when this means test will be abolished. As I said, the public believed the means test was going to be abolished either immediately on the formation of the Government or, at the very least, in budget 2026 in October of this year. From what the Minister said, there is absolutely no clarity on that. I acknowledge there have been increases in the limits over the years, which are welcome, but the commitment is to abolish the means test and that should and must be done, sooner rather than later, on the basis of the commitments given both in the election manifestos and in the programme for Government. Carers save the State €20 billion a year and give 19 million hours for free every week. They do exceptionally good work and save the State billions of euro. It is incumbent on the Government to abolish the test immediately.
I absolutely acknowledge the work of carers, which we see at first hand, and that is why it is also important we acknowledge the extent of the improvements the previous Government brought in for carers over recent years. We introduced the long-term carer's contribution scheme in January 2024, which allows a person who has been a full-time carer for an incapacitated dependant for 20 years or more to use long-term carer's contributions to cover gaps in their contribution records, allowing them to qualify for a contributory State pension. As stated previously, we have also increased the income disregard and, as part of budget 2025, the carer's support was increased to €2,000, the highest rate it has ever been. Moreover, with the support of carers and following engagement with them and their representative organisations, the capital disregard was increased from June 2022, which allows carers to have capital of up to €100,000.
I intend to engage with carers' groups and organisations regarding further supports and to engage with the Oireachtas committee on social protection in this space. I assure the Deputy this is a priority for me.
In 2024, the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated the cost of abolishing the means test as €375.3 million, which is very similar to the figure Family Carers Ireland gave, of about €389 million. That is very small money in the scheme of things. The work of family carers ensures that people with disabilities can remain at home and do not have to take up expensive beds in hospitals or nursing homes. It is self-financing and there would be huge savings to the State from abolishing the means test. Doing so is necessary and urgent and will accrue great savings to the State.
Absolutely. Carers' work is extraordinary and there is also the benefit of having somebody remain at home. Leaving aside the financial sides of things, having somebody remain at home is much better for their long-term recovery and long-term living. In the context of budgetary discussions, we will review all the figures. I will engage with the carers' organisations but also with the committee on social protection, when it is established, and we will look at all those issues. I absolutely assure the Deputy, and all Deputies, that carers are a priority for me, and I will have very good and constructive engagement with them. It is a priority within the programme for Government that I intend to be focused on delivering.
