News

New provisions allowing Leaving Certificate students who suffer a close family bereavement during the state examinations in June to sit alternative papers in July.

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.

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...

Bereavement can bring many practical questions at a time when people are already coping with loss. One area that often causes confusion is the...

Managing Alone MABS At a very vulnerable time in life the partner of a deceased person is required to make decisions involving financial matters that...

The five main Irish Banks have committed to improving the treatment of bereaved customers by establishing a common commitment of care.

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.

How to Apply for a Child Passport After a Parent Dies in Ireland Planning a holiday with children can be an important step for families...

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.

International Widows Day is an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows around the world. The lack of reliable hard data remains one of the major obstacles to developing the policies and programmes to address the poverty, violence and discrimination suffered by widows in many parts of the world. There is a need for more research and statistics disaggregated by marital status, sex and age, in order to help reveal the incidence of widow abuse and illustrate the situation of widows. According to the UN, "Governments should take action to uphold their commitments to ensure the rights of widows as enshrined in international law, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Even when national laws exist to protect the rights of widows, weaknesses in the judicial systems of many States compromise how widows’ rights are defended in practice and should be addressed. Lack of awareness and discrimination by judicial officials can cause widows to avoid turning to the justice system to seek reparations."