Burton rejects restoration of Christmas bonus payments

Joan Burton, the social protection minister, has rejected calls for the restoration of Christmas bonus payments for welfare recipients saying it was not possible as the Government needed to keep control of spending.

Yesterday a group comprising of TDs, unions, and civil society organisations said the double payment should be restored for hard-pressed families to help them buy presents for their children and keep preying moneylenders from their doors.

The group called for cross-party support for the payment, which was abolished by the Fianna Fáil/Green government in 2009. It claimed it would boost local economies all over the country. The group argued that politicians, including Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, had said that when Ireland exits the bailout programme on Dec 15, there would be some dividend for the less well off and now was a highly symbolic time to act on those promises.