2026-02-19

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue because it undoubtedly affects people in Dunleer, Togher, Drogheda and Dundalk and no doubt it also affects people the breadth of Ireland. I came in to the Chamber in October 2025 to talk about a constituency who had come to me having lost her husband a year prior. She was facing having to rear her four children, get back to work, get on with her life and with building a life for her children, only to find herself in a position in which she fell ill. It was cancer and she had to seek treatment. If things were not bad enough, because she was receiving the widow's benefit, she was therefore not entitled to illness benefit. At the time, I said this was clearly wrong. Our system cannot be devised to punish somebody when they are trying to do everything right. This lady was afflicted by a terrible tragedy in her family and was trying to put her best foot forward and build a life for her children but at the same time had to bear her own illness. It was not just that but also the economic devastation this was going to have on her family. A year and half prior to that, she had two incomes coming into the household. A year and a half later, she was not only down the income from her husband, she was also going to be down the income from her husband which was substituted by a widow's benefit and because her employer did not make up her sick pay, she was not even entitled to that illness benefit. This is despite the fact that from the day she left school she paid her PRSI and made her contributions. It is grossly unfair. At the time, I was told the Minister would take a look at reviewing this process. My understanding is no review has taken place to date and there is no date to have a review of such practices. I understand the system of one payment, one person but if this was only for widow's benefit one would say it is grossly unfair and surely it could be reviewed. However, this also happens when somebody receives the carer's allowance. These are people who take care of others day in, day out. They receive quite a nominal amount of money yet if they fall ill, they are not entitled to illness benefit. No doubt the Minister of State will tell me in some cases they can be given half of a second payment but that is not enough to pay the bills. That is not enough in this day and age to carry on day by day. When people are hit by very harsh and difficult circumstances, which I hope are temporary, we should not be there to punish them or make their lives and circumstances even harder. We should lift them up and help them along, especially in these moments of crisis. I call for this situation to be reviewed swiftly.

I thank the Deputy for the question and will speak a little on the information I received from the Department. In relation to widows, widowers and the surviving pension, we have done some work on expanding the scheme for civil partners or cohabiting partners over the past while as well. The challenge is when somebody is widowed, a man or woman, they work and then get ill themselves, going from two incomes to one. Ordinarily, if they got sick, they would be entitled to illness benefit, with the PRSI paid. This issue has come across most public representatives' desks. We meet families who are doing the right thing and making sure their contributions are up to date. Often, the families have been doubly hit. A partner may have passed away, the person is on the widow's or widower's pension and maybe raising a family on their own and working outside the home, and then illness strikes. When we look for help for them, we find we are unable to get anything for them. That is very challenging. A number of cases have been raised in the House, in particular, over the past 12 months. The Deputy raised one case very eloquently last October or November when a commitment was given to look into the matter to see what could be done. If we look at this in its totality, where a widow or widower is getting the pension because their partner has passed away, the pension is based on the PRSI the partner paid. The surviving partner has contributed their own PRSI and is looking for illness benefit at a particular time. The PRSI contribution system should be able to cope with contributions from both partners. A number of senior Government spokespersons gave an undertaking to look at it. We need to be more proactive in relation to seeing if we can do something for families, even in the short term. I can think of half a dozen of cases where I assisted but was unable to progress the application. I will take the Deputy's concerns back. A commitment was given to look at this last autumn. I will ask that it be looked at again and I will relay the seriousness of the matter as well. The Social Insurance Fund is made up, the first instance, by PRSI contributions. We could make the argument that PRSI has been paid by the partner to generate the contributory widow's or widower's pension and PRSI has been paid by the surviving partner. I will ask the Department to have a look at this in more detail.

I thank the Minister of State. I am heartened that he has grasped the seriousness of the situation and by the fact that he is going to raise the urgent need for this to be reviewed. Let us review it and implement it. Let us find a timeline of many months but, rather, weeks or a few months. The Minister of State has grasped the seriousness of the situation, as has the Minister, Deputy Calleary. It is grossly unfair and does not just affect people who are getting the widow's or widower's benefit. It is also arises in the event that somebody is receiving carer's allowance. It is the system itself. We have to grasp this. As the Minister of State said, one partner has paid PRSI and the other person is getting the benefit of that. The second person has paid their own PRSI but cannot get the full benefit of that. There is something wrong with that system. We encourage people to contribute, find their own feet and get on with life. Surely, when they stumble in life, we can help pick them up and help them along the way.

The Deputy mentioned the carer's allowance. The half-rate carer's allowance was brought in. Former Deputy Joe Callanan from east Galway and I put a motion before the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party many years ago regarding the half-rate carer's allowance. We had been banging our heads off a stone wall for some time but Séamus Brennan, the then Minister, accepted our bona fides, particularly as regards cases where one person on a pension was caring for an adult son or daughter. Illness benefit is paid for a short period. If it was the case that PRSI could be paid and that could generate a payment, it could not be done for the long term but maybe it could be done for the short term. I will take the issue back. I understand it. I have seen it with families and individuals who come in to me, particularly families who have had difficulties already because one of the parents has died. The surviving partner may be rearing a family or looking after a loved one at their most vulnerable time. The Deputy mentioned illness benefit. Illness benefit is only paid for a short period. That may be something we can look at. I will certainly raise the issue with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and the Department to see if we can come up with any proposals.