The Irish Cancer Society has partly reversed its decision to stop its hardship grants for cancer patients.

It's now announced it will maintain the grants for the families of children suffering from the condition - a move which it says will cost it around €€200,000 a year.

Yesterday the charity said it would have to stop paying the thousand-euro grants to patients because it no longer had the resources to do so.

In a statement this morning the charity apologised for the upset caused by yesterday's decision, and said it would now start start work to find the savings that would maintain the grants for the families of child patients.