'Rights of cohabiting couples in Tipperary must be enacted before Easter,' says Tipperary TD
Labour TD Alan Kelly has called for more government supports to be enacted for cohabiting couples
Labour party TD for Tipperary North, Alan Kelly, has urged Government TDs in Tipperary to push for the fast tracking of legislation to provide rights to cohabiting couples living in Tipperary.
Deputy Kelly said: “The Labour Party has long called for this anomaly in the legislation to be addressed to provide social protection to grieving partners in cohabiting couples.
“The Bereaved Partner’s Pension Bill has been marked as a priority bill for Spring 2025 by this Government and I am calling on Government TDs in Tipperary to push for this legislation to be fast tracked.
“As it stands, the current system fails to protect those who choose not to marry or those who simply haven’t formalised their partnership.
“There is a bizarre quirk in how the Department of Social Protection treats cohabiting couples. For example, if a couple is cohabiting, the Department of Social Protection will assess both of their means when carrying out a means test for a social assistance payment like job seekers allowance or carer’s allowance.
“Yet it doesn’t provide any guarantee to contributory social protection payments like the widowers’ pension when one of them dies.
“This Bill has been fought long and hard for by Toomevara man Johnny O’Meara. I have stood with him on this journey every step of the way until he won his Supreme Case just over a year ago.
"Johnny O’Meara’s case has always been about equality for his family. The lack of welfare supports for unmarried couples in Tipperary is a stain on Irish society. We need to step up and address the situation to provide equality for all families. It needs to be a priority for this Government.”