An 88-year-old woman is entitled to pension rights from the employment of her late ex-husband as director of an authority
that awarded third-level education qualifications, the High Court has ruled.
Margaret McDermott was married to Pádraig Mac Diarmada, founding director of the National Council for Educational Awards, later to become the Higher Education Training and Awards Council. They divorced in 2003, and he remarried. His second wife predeceased him, and he died in 2009.
His ex-wife, Margaret, sought the benefit of his pension from the Department of Education on the basis that their divorce settlement conferred on her maintenance and pension rights.
The department refused, arguing that Mr Mac Diarmada had not made the required “pension adjustment order” before he died.
Ombudsman
Ms McDermott complained to the Pensions Ombudsman, who found in her favour.
The Minister for Education and Skills and the Minister for Finance appealed that decision to the High Court. Rejecting the Ministers' case, Mr Justice Max Barrett said he was "unhesitatingly" finding in favour of the Pensions Ombudsman and would give his written reasons later.
Mrs McDermott was an 88-year-old woman who had been through a number of hearings and had been in court for two days, and he hoped she could return to her home in Galway and "enjoy the sunshine", the judge said.
The Ministers, in their appeal, claimed that the ombudsman had erred in law in his finding. The ombudsman denied his finding was impaired and argued that the case for Mrs McDermott was “crystal clear”.
Mrs McDermott, of Taylor’s Hill, Galway, said in an affidavit that a “fundamental right” granted to her in the 2003 divorce proceedings was pension entitlements should Mr Mac Diarmada and his second wife both die before her.
Adjustment order
She claimed that the pension adjustment order should have been made to allow the second wife entry to the pension. The Ministers relied on a technicality that Mr Mac Diarmada should have pursued the adjustment order with his employer, but Mrs McDermott could not have known anything about this, she argued.
In any case, the High Court divorce order took precedence over any rules which applied to the pension scheme, she said.
Given that she was financially dependent on Mr Mac Diarmada prior to his death, she was at a serious financial loss because the Ministers “appear to be utilising every technicality to delay giving me what I believe I am absolutely entitled to”.
