Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As Senators have said, we had quite a detailed discussion on this yesterday but we did not hear the reason the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell apart. I did not realise it possibly had to do with coffins but Senator Norris has enlightened us.

Many Senators, and in particular Senator Mooney, raised the question yesterday of the extraordinary cost of some funerals in the Dublin region. Senator Mooney mentioned a figure of €10,000 as compared with averages in rural Ireland and outside the immediate Dublin area of €3,000 to €4,000. In some cases there may have been an awareness of the availability of the grant. I am aware that funeral directors wrote to the Department a few years ago suggesting that they be paid the grant directly. There is a very heightened awareness among funeral directors of the grant, as is their entitlement.