Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf my colleague, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin. The Christmas bonus is paid to all recipients of long-term social welfare payments. The payment was made during the first week of December, at an estimated cost of €201 million. Some 1.3 million persons, comprising 940,000 recipients and 400,000 dependants, benefited from the payment.

The focus of the bonus has always been on persons who rely on the social welfare system for financial support in the long term. These include recipients of State pension, transition; State pension, contributory and non-contributory; blind pension; widow's, widower's and invalidity pensions; guardian's payment, contributory and non-contributory; one-parent family payment; carer's benefit and allowance; disability allowance; jobseeker's allowance in respect of a continuous period of unemployment of at least 15 months in duration; pre-retirement allowance; farm assist and people in receipt of employment support payments. The bonus is also payable to recipients of certain income support payments administered by the Departments of Health and Children, Education and Science and Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It is also payable to participants in the rural social scheme, which was introduced in 2004, and operates under the aegis of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The estimated cost of extending the payment to recipients of jobseekers benefit is an additional €33 million. There are no plans at present to amend or extend entitlement to the bonus payment to these schemes and any such extension could only be considered in a budgetary context having regard to the resources available and the significant cost which would be involved.

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