THE predicted payment date for the Christmas double week bonus has been confirmed, as has the double October cash date.
The first payout boost will happen this month, while a Christmas bonus will be delivered in December to help with the costs of the festive period.
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The Christmas bonus will be paid to those getting a long-term social welfare payment in December 2024.
It has been extended to those who have been getting Illness Benefit for 12 months or longer.
The Christmas bonus should be paid from the week beginning Monday, December 2 2024, depending what weekday you usually get your social welfare payment.
For those on Illness Benefit, they could get it from December 2 almost through to Christmas.
And the same groups who are eligible to get the Christmas bonus will get the October double week.
The minimum bonus amount that will be paid is €20.
If you are getting two eligible social welfare payments you will get the Christmas Bonus for both payments.
For Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA), which is paid monthly, the bonus is 100% of the weekly DCA rate.
And the DCA portion of the bonus is calculated independently of other payments.
Fuel Allowance is not a qualifying payment for the Christmas Bonus.
WHO GETS OCTOBER AND CHRISTMAS BONUS?
PEOPLE getting the following payments will get the Christmas bonus:
- Back to Education Allowance
- Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
- Back to Work Family Dividend
- Blind Pension
- Carer’s Allowance
- Carer’s Benefit
- Community Employment
- Daily Expenses Allowance – long-term
- Deserted Wife’s Allowance
- Deserted Wife’s Benefit
- Disability Allowance
- Disablement Benefit
- Domiciliary Care Allowance
- Farm Assist
- Guardian’s Payment
- Illness Benefit – long-term
- Invalidity Pension
- Job Initiative Scheme
- Jobseeker’s Allowance – long-term
- Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment
- Magdalen Commission Scheme
- Death Benefit Scheme (under the Occupational Injuries Scheme)
- One-Parent Family Payment
- Partial Capacity Benefit
- Rural Social Scheme
- State Pension (Contributory)
- State Pension (Non-contributory)
- Supplementary Welfare Allowance – long-term
- Tús (community work placement initiative)
- Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension
- Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-contributory) Pension
- Work Placement Experience Programme
It comes as:
The bonus payments are being paid out alongside a payment top-up as Minister Paschal Donohoe also confirmed an increase of €12 per week for social welfare recipients.
The Fine Gael TD said the social welfare package, worth €1.2billion, was “targeted to those with the greatest need”.
Addressing the Dail, Minister Donohoe said: “I am pleased to announce a Social Protection package for 2025 worth almost 1.2 billion targeted to those with the greatest need.
“This includes an increase of €12 per week for an individual in receipt of a weekly social protection payment.
“Further support to those with a disability and carers. I am increasing the Carer’s Allowance Means Test disregard to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple, increasing the rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance by €20, increasing the Carer’s Support Grant by €150 to €2,000, enabling Carer’s Allowance to be made a qualifying payment for the Fuel Allowance.”
He continued: “To further support families and children, I am increasing maternity, paternity, adoptive and parents’ payments by €15, increasing the weekly rates of the Increase for a Qualified Child by €4 for under 12s and by €8 for over 12s.
“I am extending the Hot School Meal programme to all remaining primary schools in 2025 and introducing a school meals holiday hunger pilot project next summer and introducing a newborn grant of an additional double Child Benefit payment, in addition to the first month of child benefit.
“This will be a €420 payment to families for each newborn child.”
