To qualify for a widow(er)’s or surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension, the surviving spouse must be deemed, under Irish State Law, to be the legal widow of the deceased.
The late husband of the person concerned was previously married in Ireland and subsequently divorced in the United Kingdom. The legislative provisions pertaining to the recognition of divorces outside the State are set out in Section 5 of the Domicile and Recognition of Foreign Divorces Act, 1986. In order for a foreign divorce to be recognised in this State, one of the parties to the divorce must be domiciled in the country granting the divorce when proceedings were initiated.
Based on the evidence available to the Deciding Officer, the deceased and his former spouse were domiciled in Ireland at the time their divorce proceedings were initiated in the United Kingdom. Therefore, the divorce that took place in the United Kingdom, and the subsequent marriage, are not recognised in this State. Consequently, there is no entitlement to widow’s contributory pension. The person concerned was informed of this decision, in writing, on the 10th of November 2017.
The person concerned has now appealed this decision to the independent Chief Appeals Office. The Chief Appeals Office will contact the person concerned directly regarding the outcome of their appeal.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.