Toomevara man takes case to High Court
A campaign by a man from Toomevara to earn the right of cohabiting couples to the widows pension has gone all the way to the High Court.
Like all others in this country in a cohabiting bond, Johnny O’ Meara of Grawn, Toomevara, was not entitled to the pension when Michelle Batey, his partner of over two decades, died on January 31 last year.
Johnny, with the support of Treoir, the National Federation of Services for Unmarried Parents and their Children, went into the High Court last week hoping to hear a judgement on the case he is taking to give cohabiting people like him the same rights as married couples.
Accompanying Johnny was Labour Party TD Alan Kelly who has vociferously campaigned for Johnny, a father of three, and others like him around the country who are currently not entitled to the widows pension.
“Couples living together may not realise they have no rights to a survivor pension when their partner dies and as a consequence Johnny felt the need to take this case on behalf of his children, Jack, Thomas and Aoife following the passing of his partner Michelle with whom he lived for over 20 years,” said Alan Kelly.
Following Michelle’s death, Deputy Kelly, along with other members of the Labour Party, brought forward a Bill to extend this pension to unwed couples. The Bill has already been introduced in the Seanad by Labour’s Senator Mark Wall. “Johnny has been a self-employed contractor and Michelle [formerly of Cormack Drive, Nenagh] worked with AIB and both paid their taxes as a couple,” Deputy Kelly stated.
MARRIAGE PLANS
“They had plans to get married after Michelle had recovered from breast cancer, but she sadly died after contracting Covid-19. Because they weren’t married, Johnny wasn’t entitled to a pension, or the €8,000 grant provided to anyone with dependent children after the death of a married partner. I believe that Johnny is being discriminating against. It is totally unfair,” said Deputy Kelly.
He said the Bill put forward by Labour would make surviving cohabitants eligible for a widow/widower’s contributory pension.
“There are an estimated 150,000 cohabiting couples in Ireland, and the concept of family has changed,” Deputy Kelly asserted.
“It's time to bring Ireland into the 21st century. We want all families to be treated fairly, whether married or not.
“This issue is experienced by a huge number of people - the 2016 census showed there are over 75,000 cohabiting couples in Ireland with child dependents,” stated Deputy Kelly.
He added: “There are already contradictions in how such couples are treated. For example, a couple will have both incomes assessed in a means test for a social assistance payment like jobseeker’s or carer’s allowance. Yet there wasn’t any entitlement to contributory payments like the widowers’ pension when one of them died.
“Cohabiting also has an impact on lots of State payments and supports, including medical cards and mature students going back to college. A cohabiting couple cannot claim or transfer unused tax credits between themselves and there can also be an inheritance tax burden when a partner dies.
“Yet, some laws don’t discriminate. For example, the Affordable Housing Act provides for equal treatment for cohabiting couples to qualify for the purchase of an affordable dwelling if they plan to live together, so cohabitation is recognised for some laws but not for others.
“This is totally contradictory and discriminatory. It’s time the law caught up with modern family life.”
Deputy Kelly said he wanted to thank Johnny and his children, Jack, Thomas and Aoife for the “brave stance” they have taken. He said he would continue to support them in this fight until they get justice.