Funeral Services

Tuesday, 16 December 2025

Ceisteanna (660)

Mark Wall

Ceist:

660. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of funeral assistance grants applied for by county and granted by county in each of the last three years , in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [72417/25]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Social Protection

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 scheme for assistance with funeral and burial expenses where there is an inability to pay these costs, in part or in full, by by the applicant and/or 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 below shows the number of Additional Needs Payments registered for Funeral and Burial expenses by county from 2023 - 2025.

Table 2 below shows the number of Additional Needs Payments awarded for Funeral and Burial expenses by county from 2023 - 2025 (Q3).

The figures provided do not include the number of claims that have been disallowed, withdrawn, cancelled or are awaiting further information.

In addition, my Department publishes statistics on Additional Needs Payments in the Quarterly Statistics report which is available on gov.ie

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.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Table 1 – Additional Needs Payments for Funeral and Burial expenses registered by county from 2023-2025

County	2023	2024	2025 (to end of Q3)
Carlow	77	88	57
Cavan	102	99	75
Clare	107	105	89
Cork	478	469	432
Donegal	164	171	133
Dublin	1,907	1,928	1,451
Galway	210	187	170
Kerry	147	160	125
Kildare	234	275	143
Kilkenny	94	97	74
Laois	113	105	69
Leitrim	35	35	28
Limerick	253	236	191
Longford	74	86	38
Louth	230	231	161
Mayo	141	133	109
Meath	178	202	122
Monaghan	65	49	36
Offaly	118	112	100
Roscommon	77	64	38
Sligo	62	74	54
Tipperary	180	212	118
Waterford	139	118	104
Westmeath	125	110	69
Wexford	181	196	118
Wicklow	152	163	105
Not specified	8	6	3
Grand Total	5,651	5,711	4,212

Table 2 – Additional Needs Payments for Funeral and Burial expenses awarded by county from 2023-2025, to end of Q3

County	2023	2024	2025 (to end of Q3)
Carlow	38	41	26
Cavan	47	47	27
Clare	68	51	40
Cork	268	261	193
Donegal	89	88	60
Dublin	929	909	577
Galway	93	75	49
Kerry	67	71	38
Kildare	102	122	61
Kilkenny	54	39	27
Laois	59	45	27
Leitrim	20	16	14
Limerick	140	120	77
Longford	45	41	26
Louth	123	117	73
Mayo	50	57	30
Meath	111	89	45
Monaghan	43	23	15
Offaly	66	46	40
Roscommon	51	26	19
Sligo	29	30	17
Tipperary	95	104	57
Waterford	71	58	40
Westmeath	68	68	26
Wexford	77	83	45
Wicklow	75	72	56
Not specified	3
Grand Total	2,881	2,699	1,705