First mooted almost seven years ago by the then finance minister, Charlie McCreevy, a working group composed of government departments and public sector unions has recommended to Cowen that the radical step should now be taken to allow a public servant's valuable pension to be passed on to a co-habiting partner after they die.

It is understood a "nonmarital partner" will include a gay partner, as to do otherwise would risk contravening the employment equality legislation which outlaws discrimination on nine grounds, including sexual orientation.

At present, most of the country's 300,000 public servants contribute around 1% of their salary to a 'widows and orphans' pension scheme.

This allows a public servant's pension, which is worth 50% of salary adjusted each year for public sector wage increases, to pass on to the wife or husband on their death and on to their children until they are 18. But the couple must be married.

When first recommended in the 2000 Commission on Public Service Pension Reform, three senior civil servants who were among the 11 members of the commission objected to the radical move.

In a formal reservation, they said it would be "inappropriate to introduce provisions in those schemes which move ahead of the law generally on family units based on marriage".

But several initiatives since then . . . notably the Law Reform Commission's report on the Rights and Duties of Cohabitants, as well as EU laws . . . have conferred rights and benefits on cohabiting partners.