Social Welfare Payments

Thursday, 19 June 2025

Ceisteanna (106)

Mark Wall

Ceist:

106. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of funeral assistance grants paid out over the past five years; the number refused, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33119/25]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Dara Calleary)

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department can make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income.

An application can be made under the Additional Needs Payment scheme for assistance with funeral and burial expenses where there is an inability to pay these costs, in part or in full, by the family of the deceased person without causing hardship.

Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation, and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

Table 1 shows the Number of Additional Needs Payments awarded for Funeral and Burial expenses by county from 2020-2024.

Table 2 shows the number of Additional Needs Payments disallowed for Funeral and Burial expenses by county from 2022-2024. Statistics on the number of Additional Needs Payments disallowed are not available for 2020-2021.

Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an Additional Needs Payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.

Funeral assistance grants 2020-2025

I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.

Table 1 – Additional Needs Payments for Funeral and Burial expenses awarded by county from 2020-2024

County	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Carlow	35	23	32	38	41
Cavan	39	23	46	47	47
Clare	43	45	37	68	51
Cork	234	245	216	268	261
Donegal	89	69	93	89	88
Dublin	1,050	873	969	929	909
Galway	78	56	57	93	75
Kerry	60	42	50	67	71
Kildare	109	98	114	102	122
Kilkenny	38	55	47	54	39
Laois	71	41	54	59	45
Leitrim	16	15	21	20	16
Limerick	91	91	88	140	120
Longford	32	45	46	45	41
Louth	105	102	104	123	117
Mayo	63	38	46	50	57
Meath	70	90	68	111	89
Monaghan	38	23	33	43	23
Offaly	48	56	73	66	46
Roscommon	37	41	37	51	26
Sligo	35	36	23	29	30
Tipperary	106	78	83	95	104
Waterford	58	59	51	71	58
Westmeath	61	80	65	68	68
Wexford	41	43	63	77	83
Wicklow	131	78	67	75	72
Unspecified				3
Grand Total	2,778	2,445	2,583	2,881	2,699

Table 2 - Additional Needs Payments disallowed for Funeral and Burial expenses from 2022-2024

County	2022	2023	2024
Carlow	4	14	19
Cavan	17	11	14
Clare	30	32	16
Cork	60	71	69
Donegal	30	42	39
Dublin	205	251	284
Galway	32	53	38
Kerry	27	27	40
Kildare	32	37	55
Kilkenny	10	13	20
Laois	7	7	13
Leitrim	6	8	10
Limerick	29	57	47
Longford	14	9	9
Louth	30	27	40
Mayo	29	35	30
Meath	22	16	28
Monaghan	2	7	8
Offaly	10	20	31
Roscommon	8	9	15
Sligo	11	16	22
Tipperary	15	34	36
Waterford	20	26	31
Westmeath	27	24	16
Wexford	30	34	47
Wicklow	17	24	21
Unspecified	4	4	4
Grand Total	728	908	1,002