Christmas bonuses will be paid to pensioners

PENSIONERS and other long-term welfare recipients will get their Christmas bonus this year in spite of swingeing cutbacks across all departments.

Social Welfare Minister Mary Coughlan will tomorrow announce that the 100% bonus will be paid in the first week of December. The announcement will come as the Government seeks to put its Yes to Nice referendum campaign into top gear with just 12 days left to polling day on October 19.

It will also be part of a move by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and his ministers to put the political calamities of the past fortnight behind them. FF party sources last night said they will be going all out to secure a reversal of the June 2001 Nice poll which was lost by 54% to 46% but with little more than one in three voters turning out.