Madam, - Before he completes this year's budget it is to be hoped that Mr Brian Cowen, Minister for Finance, will liaise with his colleague, Séamus Brennan, Minister for Social and Family Affairs, to end a little known but cruelly felt act of discrimination against some grieving families and their children.
The Widowed Parent Grant is a one-off payment of €2,700 made to widows/widowers, with at least one dependent child. Eligibility is determined by marital status. This has implications for non-marital couples living with each other and caring for their children together. In the event of the death of one partner the surviving partner is deemed ineligible for the grant. This is inequitable.
Bereavement is a traumatic and painful experience in its own right, but the death of a partner and a parent frequently results in increased financial difficulties. As all couples with children are treated equally by other provisions of the social welfare code there should be no justification for discrimination against non-marital families when they are coping with one of life's greatest difficulties - the death of a parent.
The Department of Social and Family Affairs has stated that a review of the social welfare code in relation to the requirements of the Equal Status Act (2000) will take "some years to complete". Ministers, need it take so long? Surely this is a provision that calls for a much speedier response on grounds of equity, fairness and compassion. - Yours, etc.,
JIM RHATIGAN, Chairperson, Hospice and Palliative Care Social Work Group, c/o Milford Care Centre, Castletroy, Limerick.