Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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106. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the categories of weekly social protection payments not covered by the Christmas bonus; if she will review these with a view to expanding the qualifying payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44969/15]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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122. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the categories of persons who will not receive the Christmas bonus in 2015, but who would have received it before it was cut; the cost of re-instating the Christmas bonus for these categories; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45175/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 122 together.

The Christmas Bonus was introduced in 1980 and was paid annually, at varying rates, until it was abolished in 2009. Last year, I was pleased to partially restore the Bonus, with a 25% payment, and on Budget Day this year, I announced that a 75% Christmas Bonus would be paid to over 1.2 million long-term social welfare recipients, such as pensioners, people with disabilities, carers and long-term jobseekers at a cost of circa €197 million.

The bonus, since its re-introduction, is paid to all of the schemes that previously benefited from its payment, with the addition this year of the new Back to Work Family Dividend.

As in previous years, Jobseeker’s Allowance recipients must have been in receipt of their payment for a minimum of 15 months (390 days) in order to qualify for the bonus. Time spent on Jobseeker’s Benefit prior to receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance counts towards the calculation of the 15 month period. Short-term welfare payments, such as Jobseeker’s Benefit, Maternity Benefit, Illness Benefit and FIS, have never been eligible for the Bonus, and similar arrangements continue to apply this year.

The Christmas bonus (when paid in the past) was administered for SWA recipients by the Community Welfare Service (CWS) of the HSE. The CWS transferred into this Department in late 2011. Prior to the abolition of the Bonus in 2009, there was variation in the administration of the bonus across HSE areas. When the bonus was re-introduced last year, entitlement was standardised for SWA recipients in line with Jobseeker’s Allowance. It should be noted that persons on Basic SWA (with a duration of less than 15 months) who are awaiting a decision on a long term scheme (to which the Bonus applies) will receive the Bonus if entitlement to the relevant scheme is backdated to cover the week in which the Bonus would have been payable for 2015.

There are currently no plans to review the schemes eligible for the bonus.