A Christmas bonus double payment will be paid to over 1.3 million social welfare recipients next week, including those on the long-term illness benefit for the first time. 

The bonus payment will be made to pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, widows and parents and will be paid in addition to everyone’s normal weekly payment. 

The Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said that her department secured the seasonal bonus payment at a cost of over  €300 million, and that the payment comes after 7 lump sum payments made to support people with the cost of living over the last six weeks, with a total cost of €1.2 Billion.

An estimated 17,500 people on the long-term illness benefit will receive the payment, but this only applies to those who have been in receipt of the benefit for 12 months or longer. These people will receive their bonus payment between 6 and 23 of December. 

Humphreys said that the payment is designed to ”put more money in the pockets of our pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, widows and lone parents.”

She added that she is particularly pleased that people on the long-term illness benefit will receive the double payment this year. 

“The vast majority of people are on Illness Benefit for a very short period of time and then return to work however there are a small cohort of people with serious medical conditions who remain on the payment for longer periods of time.

“These are people who have worked all their lives, paid their PRSI and then have to take time out of the workforce due to serious and possibly long-lasting health conditions. A number of people have raised this issue with me and I am pleased to confirm that people in receipt of Illness Benefit for 12 months or longer will now receive the payment,” the Minister added.

She also encouraged people to support small local businesses in the run up to Christmas.