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]

Sentiment score: 0.30

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.

Sentiment score: 0.34

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.

Sentiment score: 0.10

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.

Sentiment score: -0.12

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]

Sentiment score: 0.01

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.

Sentiment score: 0.20

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.

Sentiment score: 0.16

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.

Sentiment score: 0.21