Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 33:

In page 13, after line 38, to insert the following new section:

“Review of Bereavement Grant

17. The Minister for Employment and Social Protection shall, after the passing of this Act, prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas reviewing the abolition of the Bereavement Grant and setting out the options for restoring those grants.”.

The bereavement grant was based on contributions. If one had the requisite contributions, one was guaranteed a sum of €800. I have dealt with many cases in which people who qualified for the bereavement grant had to access the community welfare officer to get a top-up because the cost of funerals has been escalating quite steadily. Now the only place one can get assistance is through the burial grant mechanism which used to be the old community welfare thing. Many people are encountering a lot of hardship. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection seems to be assessing it on the same basis as before for people who already received the €800 grant. It is becoming more and more difficult and more and more people have to get into debt to meet funeral expenses. I am not too concerned about a formal report. I want the Department to have a look at this problem. It is a real problem and I want the Department to look at it.

I would be interested to hear what the Minister has to say in this regard.