Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has announced that the special needs payments made to parents to finance Communions and Confirmations is to be reduced to €110. Last year an average of €303 was paid to families in the greater Dublin area, with the lowest amount, €189, made in the north east. In total last year €3.4m was paid for religious occasions and the Minister has said that social welfare officers would still have discretionary powers in unforeseen circumstances.

At a time when priests, teachers and others are trying to persuade parents to abandon the spending excesses of the recent past when it comes to First Communions, Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald got quite exercised in the Dáil as she appealed for the First Communion payment to be maintained at existing levels.

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