The Christmas bounty is due to be paid to more than 1 million people receiving welfare payments next week.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Social Protection announced that the Christmas bounty would be paid to 1.4 million people.
Heather Humphreys has confirmed that a 100% bonus will be issued to welfare recipients at a cost of more than €313 million.
The annual cash bonus is awarded to people claiming long-term welfare payments.
The bonus is 100% of the long-term weekly social welfare payments received by claimants, with a minimum amount of €20.
(Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins)
Claimants who are eligible to pay will receive the bonus between December 6 and December 10, Which means it only took a few days for the extra money to be distributed.
However, while the qualification period for those receiving Qualifying Job Seeker Payments has been reduced, it remains 12 months.
Anyone who has not met this qualifying period, and is otherwise ineligible, will not be able to receive payment.
Although DSP officials added that the time that people currently receiving Job Seeker Pay spend in the PUP will count toward the 12-month requirement.
some 23 batches eligible for the bonus, which means that the majority of welfare recipients will receive extra money soon.
Categories of social welfare claims eligible for the Christmas Bonus are:
- Return to the work institution allowance
- Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment (PUP) Pandemic Unemployment Payments
- Pension for the blind
- Sponsor’s allowance and benefits (including the half-rate allowance for the caregiver)
- community recruitment
- Abandoned wife allowance and allowances
- Daily Expense Allowance, formerly Direct Savings Allowance (Long Term Only – 15 Months / Over 455 Days)
- disability allowance
- Disability pension and civil partner pension for widows, widowers or survivors under the occupational injury scheme
- Home care allowance
- farm help
- Guardian payment (voluntary) and (non-contributory)
- disability pension
- Job Initiative
- Job Seeker Allowance (for a period of no less than 104 days).
- Transitional Payment for a Job Seeker
- Pay Magdalene Laundry
- Single Parent Family Payment
- Partial capacity feature
- Rural Social Scheme
- State pension (pension) and (non-pension)
- Started
- Civil partner pension for a widower, widower, or survivor