Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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308. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the Christmas bonus will be extended to families that receive the family income supplement in view of the fact the Christmas period is a difficult and expensive time for low-income families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39714/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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On Budget Day, I announced an 85% Christmas bonus, which was paid earlier this month to over 1.2 million beneficiaries of all the weekly schemes to which the bonus previously applied, such as pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and long-term jobseekers. Family Income Supplement (FIS) recipients were never eligible for the bonus in the past and similar arrangements apply this year. As a result of Budget 2017, FIS recipients may benefit from the improvements to the USC rates introduced by my colleague, the Minister for Finance. FIS recipients with younger children may also benefit from the Single Affordable Childcare scheme introduced by my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.