Social welfare recipients to receive Christmas bonus from Monday

The Christmas Bonus will be paid to more than 1.2 million social welfare recipients from Monday - the first time in a decade it has been fully restored.

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, said payments totalling €264.3m will be made.

“I am very happy to announce that the Christmas Bonus is being paid again this year and will be available next week.

"Benefitting all recipients of long-term social welfare payments including carers, people with disabilities, pensioners, and lone parents, the bonus is timed to assist people with the extra expenses occurred over Christmas.

"In many homes across Ireland, families depend on this bonus and - owing to sound economic and fiscal management by the Government - this will be the first time in a decade in which we can make a 100% Christmas Bonus and provide increased support at this time of the year.”

The category with the largest number of recipients is the State Pension (Contributory), followed by those receiving Disability Allowance and then those on the Widow(er)s' Surviving Civil Partners Pension and those on Jobseeker's Allowance.

In total, a Christmas bonus will be paid across 30 different welfare payments to 1,213,130 recipients.

Christmas bonus payments were partially restored in 2014, after being axed in the Emergency Budget in April 2009.

Last September Minister Doherty said there was no intention of discontinuing the Christmas bonus for any social welfare recipient and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed the money would be paid.