An end to unfair and unjust treatment of widows, particularly those who are dependent on social welfare or on very low incomes, should be a primary Budget aim, the National Association of Widows in Ireland has said.
In the association's Budget 2000 submission the executive committee said that in view of the very strong financial position in which the Government found itself, the Budget should aim to eliminate poverty.
"The association has positive proof that widows with dependent children, who are solely dependent on social welfare benefits, find it impossible to meet their financial commitments. Most widowed people on low income suffer from the same disadvantages," the submission said.
The association called for a research programme to flush out existing pockets of poverty. It recommended that widows with children who were dependent on social welfare should receive substantial increases, as should widows between the ages of 40 and 66 who were receiving social welfare.
The executive highlighted areas it said the Government should address.
The association called on the relevant minister to address the injustices handed out to widows who worked and paid full PRSI yet received only half the sick benefit.
FAS training programmes should be revised to cut the red tape so widows could take part equally with other people who attended training courses that would be beneficial to them, it urged.
The submission outlined the case of widows who were entitled to receive a social welfare contributory pension but who did not apply for it through lack of information, ill health or age. When they had applied later, sometimes after many years, they had not received the full arrears due to them.
"This treatment is condemned out of hand, not alone by our association, but it was also highlighted in the Review of Complaints to the Ombudsman, in a recent report to the Dail and Seanad," the submission said.
It also called for the child's portion of the widow's pension, which is paid specifically for the maintenance of the child, to be exempt from tax. Social welfare pensions should not be assessed as earned income and should be exempt from tax.
"The association denounces this unfair and unjust treatment, which may be repugnant to the Constitution, and we are of the opinion that we would win these cases if they were brought to our Supreme Court or the European Court of Justice," it said.
The submission also called for a national childcare service, the provision of affordable housing and improvements in all areas of the health service, particularly on general healthcare costs.