€17m in emergency payments spent helping people bury loved ones over past two years

The average payment for funeral expenses was around €3,500, according to data released under Freedom of Information laws. Picture: Denis Minihane.

More than €17m was provided in emergency payments over the past two years to people struggling with the cost of burying loved ones.

The spending was part of more than €133m paid out by the Department of Social Protection in additional needs payments in 2024 and 2025.

More than half of the money, around €71m in total, was paid for the “kit out” of new accommodation for welfare recipients.

Around 4,900 people were granted assistance for burials, totalling €9.33m in 2024 and a further €7.86m in 2025.

The average payment for funeral expenses was around €3,500, according to data released under Freedom of Information laws.

A total of €6.6m was granted for “adult clothing” in around 53,000 cases — roughly €125 per payment. There was €526,000 worth of spending on bedding and €178,000 for children’s clothing.

The Department of Social Protection also sanctioned €52,000 in payments for nappies and €241,000 for the purchase of cots.

A further €215,000 was paid in “confinement costs”, understood to relate to childbirth costs, and €1.295m for floor coverings.

The department allocated €9.11m for items of furniture in 6,015 applications, or an average of around €1,500 per payment. Other costs included €280,000 for gas or boiler replacement and around €4.37m for household appliances.

A total of €306,000 was paid in hostel costs for people struggling to find permanent housing and €10,500 for bed and breakfast accommodation.

'Insufficient means'

There were €5.05m worth of payments for “insufficient means” where a person was struggling to make ends meet.

A further €257,000 in spending was approved for money that was stolen or lost along with €900 in payments for mortgage arrears.

Around €740,000 was paid for the purchase of prams and buggies while around a dozen prisoners newly released from jail received around €160 each.

Rent supports of €2.36m were granted — including €1.37m for rent arrears, €940,000 for rent deposits, and €42,000 for rent in advance.

Other payments listed by the department were €2.1m for repairs and maintenance and €640,000 in telephone costs. Around €4.1m was also granted in “urgent needs payments” by the department.

The Department of Social Protection said additional needs payments were made in cases where a person was faced with expenses they could not pay from their own resources.

An information note said: “The scheme is demand-led, and 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.

“The scheme is not intended to cover circumstances where responsibility rests with another government department or agency.”