If a partner in a cohabiting couple dies, the surviving partner has no entitlement to a widow or widower's contributory pension from the Department of Social Protection, even where the couple has been working for a considerable time and paying taxes. There is legislation giving cohabiting couples certain rights. Entering into a marriage or civil partnership is a legal act, which confers both rights and obligations on both parties distinct from those between cohabiting couples.
According to the 2016 census, Ireland had approximately 150,000 cohabiting couples, of whom more than 75,000 were cohabiting couples with children. The Bill will ensure cohabiting couples will have equal rights to the widow's pension and be treated in the same way as married couples or civil partnerships.
Key terms by TF-IDF across 5,368 words from 11 speakers. The summary quotes the highest-scoring sentences verbatim — nothing is paraphrased.
Tellers: Tá, Senators Seán Kyne and Lisa Chambers; Níl, Senators Mark Wall and Marie Sherlock.
| Question | Result | Tá–Níl |
|---|---|---|
| Amendment put: | Lost | 6–22 |
| Amendment put: | Lost | 6–23 |
| Amendment put: | Lost | 7–22 |
| Amendment put: | Lost | 10–22 |
Party shown is the one each member held on 2022-10-26, frozen by a dated join — not their party today. The Oireachtas API publishes no date of birth and returns an empty gender field for every member in this period, so no age or gender breakdown is shown.