Written answers
Tuesday, 23 July 2024
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
Social Welfare Benefits
Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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1368.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of providing a Christmas bonus social welfare payment on the same basis as in December 2023 this year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32723/24]
Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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1375.To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to provide a breakdown of the cost of repeating in 2024 each one-off cost-of-living grant provided in 2023 and announced in Budget 2024, in tabular form; and to provide, for each payment, the projected number of eligible applicants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32731/24]
Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1368 and 1375 together.
The estimated cost in 2024 of providing the same once-off payments announced in Budget 2024 and paid in 2023, including the Christmas Bonus, is outlined in the table below.
These costings are based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2024 and as such, will change as the Department reviews recipient and expenditure trends over the next number of months, in advance of Budget 2025.
| Payment | Value | Estimated Recipients | Estimated Cost (€m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working Family Payment lump sum | €400 per recipient | 47,100 | 18.8 |
| Lump sum payment for recipients of Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and Carers Support Grant | €400 per recipient | 351,000 | 140.5 |
| Living Alone Allowance lump sum | €200 per recipient | 242,300 | 48.5 |
| Fuel Allowance lump sum | €300 per recipient | 412,500 | 123.8 |
| Increase for a qualified child lump sum | €100 per child | 353,800 | 35.4 |
| Child Benefit double payment | Double payment | 661,300 (families) | 181.3 |
| Christmas bonus | Double payment | 1,370,000 | 347.7 |
| January bonus* | Double payment | 1,370,000 | 347.7 |
* The January Bonus was paid in January 2024 on the same basis as the Christmas Bonus.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
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