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Funeral delays in Ireland are becoming an increasing concern for bereaved families. In recent weeks, coroners and pathologists have warned that staffing shortages within...

Comptroller & Auditor General Report Widows’/widowers’/surviving civil partners’ contributory pension is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. It...

Department of Social Protection failed to inform Widower of entitlement to pension. A man whose wife died in 1998 brought a complaint to the Ombudsman,...

Deaths in Ireland are rising faster than supports A new report on death and bereavement warns that the number of deaths in Ireland will rise...

The new Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar has reminded families that the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance will be made available again this year, and urged families who are not automatically entitled to make an application before the August deadline. “The support provided through the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance helps parents with the cost of the new school year. The Department of Social Protection has allocated €38.8 million for the payments this year. I want to remind families who do not automatically receive the allowance that they can still make an application before the August deadline,” Minister Varadkar said.

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall recently published the first casebook for County Clare. He was asked to examine the case of a widow who, after her husbands death, wasn't informed of her entitlement to Household Benefits Package.

Important updates to the Ombudsman process are now law in Ireland. For widowed people facing issues with social welfare, pensions, mortgage protection, or life insurance claims, these changes promise faster and fairer outcomes.

Let me share with you something amazing that happened. In mid to late January of this year I got a phone call from a gentleman saying he was from the People of the Year Awards, he continued to explain that I had been nominated for an award and was now shortlisted. Much of what he said didn't register and he had to repeat himself a couple of times at my request, I couldn't believe it, is this really happening? I wasn't even aware of being nominated. The phone call came from Martin Grant of Rehab and People of the Year Awards, who explained I was shortlisted in the category 'Everyday Hero' for my work setting up the bereavement support website Widow.ie. He continued to explain that the nomination was by a member of our forum who, at that time, wished to remain anonymous and that I would have to be willing to go on the radio. It was a lot of information to process.

World’s Largest Medical Study Into What Happens When We Die What happens when we die is an age old question. People who claim of a...

An investigation by the Ombudsman led to over €46,000 in backdated State pension payments being awarded, after a review found that a Department of Social Protection office had provided incomplete advice. The case, included in the recently published 2023 Annual Report, highlights the importance of clear and accurate information when people are making decisions about their entitlements.