Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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155. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if recipients of part-time jobseeker's benefit will receive the 25% Christmas bonus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40101/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I announced in Budget 2015 that a 25% Christmas bonus will be paid this year to recipients of certain social welfare payments. Where payable, the minimum bonus to be paid will be €20 and the measure as a whole is expected to benefit over 1.16m people.

The Christmas bonus was introduced in 1980 and was last paid in 2008. In that year (and in previous years), the Bonus was not paid to persons who had been in receipt of jobseekers’ payments for less than 15 months. Accordingly, it was not paid to recipients of jobseeker’s benefit. It was also not paid to recipients of jobseeker’s allowance who were in receipt of that payment for less than 15 months (time spent on jobseeker’s benefit prior to receipt of jobseeker’s allowance was taken into account in calculating the duration of unemployment).

Similar arrangements will apply in relation to payment of the 25% Bonus this year. Recipients of jobseeker’s allowance who are also engaged in part-time employment can qualify for a Bonus if they have been in receipt of the payment for 15 or more months.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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156. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if recipients of back to education allowance will receive the 25% Christmas bonus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40104/14]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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167. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if recipients of family income supplement will receive the 25% Christmas bonus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40160/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 156 and 167 together.

I announced in Budget 2015 that a 25% Christmas bonus will be paid this year to recipients of certain social welfare payments. Where payable, the minimum bonus will be €20 and the measure as a whole is expected to benefit over 1.16m people.

The Christmas bonus was introduced in 1980 and was last paid in 2008. In that year, the Bonus was paid to all recipients of back to education allowance (BTEA) who were in receipt of long-term jobseeker’s allowance prior to commencing the BTEA scheme or to short-term jobseeker’s allowance or jobseeker’s benefit provided, if they had remained on the live register, they would have exhausted 15 months prior to the application of the bonus week. A bonus was not paid to recipients of family income supplement in 2008 and in prior years.

Similar arrangements will apply this year in relation to eligibility to a bonus payment for recipients of the schemes in question.