A Government decision to make the contributory pension available to unmarried people whose long-term partners have died has been welcomed by a bereaved man who campaigned for the measure.
John O’Meara won a Supreme Court case in January last year following the death of his long-term partner Michelle Batey, who was mother of his three children.
Mr O’Meara said he was “delighted” by the announcement, having felt he had no choice but to go to court to challenge the situation he faced.
“I saw it as discrimination towards my children,” he said.
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‘My son is getting married in the summer, and the likelihood is that I’m going to be able to see that’
Speaking about his deceased partner, he said: “None of this would have happened but for her.”
Ms Batey died in 2021 after contracting Covid-19 while seriously ill with breast cancer.
But Mr O’Meara was deemed ineligible for the widower’s contributory pension (WCP) as he was neither married nor in a civil partnership with Ms Batey.
He has said they did not marry largely because of Ms Batey’s experience of her parents’ marriage and separation. After she became ill with breast cancer, they decided they would marry, but were unable to after she fell into a coma.
Mr O’Meara went to the Supreme Court with the support of the Free Legal Aid Centres (FLAC), claiming the State discriminated against him and his children. The seven judges ruled in his favour.
[ Supreme Court rules law refusing widower’s pension to unmarried father of three unconstitutional ]
Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary said on Tuesday he has secured government approval for the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner’s Pension) Bill, which will give effect to the Supreme Court decision.
Couples who lived together with their now-deceased partner for two years or more and had children together will qualify. For those who did not have children together, they will qualify if they had lived together for five years or more.
All contributory pension payments will be backdated to the date of the Supreme Court judgment from January 22nd last year.
Access will also be provided for qualifying cohabitants to the Bereaved Parent’s Grant and the Bereaved Partners Non-Contributory Pension.
In making the announcement, Mr Calleary acknowledged the role the O’Meara family played in bringing about a change in the law.
“The loss of a loved one does not discriminate between those who are married or those that lived together in committed relationships. The Supreme Court recognised that such distinction was unequal when it came to the Widower’s Contributory Pension,” he said.
“With this legislation, we will ensure that a significant financial support is available to grieving partners equally.”
The WCP is paid to the widow, widower or civil partner of a deceased person based on the deceased person’s social insurance record.
The contribution, which is means-tested, is up to €249.50 a week for those aged under 66 and up to €298.30 a week for those aged 66 and over. There is an additional payment per child.
