John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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29. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will amend the Vote of her Department to include the full Christmas payment from budget 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15370/19]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Christmas Bonus payment is made to long-term social welfare recipients, such as pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, lone parents and long-term unemployed people who rely wholly or mainly on their social welfare payments for financial support.

The payment of a Christmas Bonus is a discretionary decision made by Government in the context of the annual Budget process and available resources.  The level of payment made can vary annually and, in fact, was not paid at all in the period from 2009 to 2013.  In this regard, it is not included in the Department’s annual Estimates.

A decision to pay the bonus at Budget time must be consistent with the legal requirements set out in the Fiscal Responsibility Acts 20212 and 2013, and within the context of achieving targets set for Ireland by the EU rules.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.