THE STATE WILL have to legislate in line with yesterday’s Supreme Court decision in relation to pension entitlements for unmarried couples, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has said.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a man was entitled to his widower’s pension despite the fact he was not married to his partner of 20 years. 

The constitutional challenge was taken by Johnny O’Meara who was denied access to the widower’s pension because he was not married to his long-term partner, Michelle Batey when she died in 2021. 

Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell told the court that the distinction in the legislation between a married and unmarried couple was “arbitrary and capricious”.

The judgement from the Supreme Court noted that a legislative amendment is required to resolve the issue raised in the case.

Responding to a question from The Journal this afternoon on the impact the judgement will have on public finances, Minister for Finance Micheal McGrath said the judgement will be reviewed and the wider implications considered. 

He said he was aware that the Attorney General had given a very initial assessment of the judgement.

“Obviously, we will have to legislate in line with the decision of the Supreme Court but the full implications have yet to be considered. But we will certainly now do that work,” the Minister said. 

Asked what the timeline for such work would be, the Minister said he did not have a specific timeline.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Protection said the Government “notes the decision of the Supreme Court in relation to access to the Widow’s, Widower’s and Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension in respect of surviving cohabitants and their children”.

“The Minister for Social Protection and the Attorney General are now considering the judgment, including the legislative changes required to respond to this decision. This will be done with all expediency.”

Waiting

A number of families are now awaiting clarification on how the Supreme Court’s ruling will affect them. 

Mr O’Meara said yesterday he was delighted with the ruling and noted that it will help many other families in similar situations.

Mr O’Meara was represented by Flac (Free Legal Advice Centres) who welcomed the ruling.

A spokesperson for Flac said the judgment “extends the principle of equality in the context of a social welfare payment, recognising that a non-marital family fulfils the same social function as a marital family and experiences the same loss when a parent dies”.

Eilis Barry, Flac CEO, said the “historic judgment affirms the equality of all children and parents before the law”.

“It requires the Government to re-examine the legislation concerning entitlement to survivors’ pensions. Flac would encourage them to take an inclusive approach to this process and to engage with relevant organisations such as Treoir to address the gaps in the existing survivor’s pension scheme,” Barry said.

Contains reporting from Orla Ryan.