Minister Must Introduce Legislation Urgent for Cohabiting Couples’ Access to Widow’s Pension 

Minister Must Introduce Legislation Urgent for Cohabiting Couples’ Access to Widow’s Pension 

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Minister Must Introduce Legislation Urgent for Cohabiting Couples’ Access to Widow’s Pension 

IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Tuesday, May 21st, 2024. 

At their Annual General Meeting today Treoir, The National Information Service for Unmarried Families, has called on the Minister for Social Protection to urgently introduce legislation addressing the John O’Meara Supreme Court ruling for other cohabiting couples.  

John O’Meara, supported by Treoir and FLAC, challenged the Department of Social Protection’s decision to refuse him the Widow/Widower’s Pension on the grounds that he was not married to his partner, Michelle Batey. Mr O’Meara and Ms Batey had been together over 20 years and had 3 children together.  

Speaking at Treoir’s AGM today, Damien Peelo, CEO of Treoir said “In January 2024, John O’Meara won a landmark case in the Supreme Court that stated that the discrimination against him and his children based on marital status was unjustified. That discrimination cannot continue for other cohabitants. The Court ordered the government to introduce legislation to rectify this for other cohabiting couples and yet it has been nearly 6 months, and nothing has happened, and we are heading into the Dáil summer recess.”  

“Other cohabiting couples and the public have no understanding of which families will be included in this policy change. This creates a lot of distress and uncertainty for families already grieving their loved one. We need urgent action from our legislators” he said.  

John O’Meara’s case was a significant win for cohabiting couples’ rights in Ireland. Treoir continues to receive new calls every week from other surviving cohabitants looking for updates on when they will be eligible for this pension. Treoir has written to the Minister for Social Protection requesting that all cohabiting couples, with or without dependent children, to be covered by the new legislation, just like married couples are. Secondly, Treoir believes that the number of years of cohabitation required should be no more than 3 years 

Cohabiting couples who lost their partner before John O’Meara’s victory should be eligible for backdated payments, regardless of whether they made an application at the time or not, as many were told they were ineligible and did not apply.”  

ENDS    

For press interviews from Treoir, please contact Sinéad Murray, Communications Officer sinead@treoir.ie / 085 850 4710.