Bereavement grant cut was the easiest option - Howlin
The Government has defended its decision to cut grants to the families of the deceased.
Brendan Howlin said the scrapping of the Bereavement Grant was the fairest way of taking money from older generations.
The €850 grant to cover the costs of a funeral was scrapped in today's Budget.
But Minister Howlin says the other options would have been much more difficult.
"We've done our level best, as with all social welfare payments, to maintain what we call a threshold of decency," he said.
He said none of the other available options "recommend themselves as easy."
