Over 1.3m people will receive a €200 lump sum “spring bonus” payment later this month, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys has confirmed.
The payment will be made to pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, lone parents, widows and widowers.
It will also be paid to people who receive the Working Family Payment and who have not received the lump sum on their primary payment.
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Those who are eligible for payment will receive it in addition to their normal weekly payment in the week commencing Monday April 24.
The €100 payment for those in receipt of child benefit, meanwhile, will be paid to parents in June, Minister Humphreys confirmed.
The Fine Gael TD acknowledged that people are still feeling the effects of the cost of living crisis.
“In February, I was delighted to secure Government approval for over €410 million in additional supports to be paid to families in the coming months,” she said.
“This €200 lump sum payment is the first of these measures and will be followed in June by an extra €100 per child for people receiving Child Benefit.
“Parents who receive the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance will also get an additional €100 for each child this summer.
“This package of measures, in addition to the €2.2 billion of supports secured as part of Budget 2023, underlines our continued commitment to address the increased cost of living being experienced by our citizens.
“From the very start of this difficult period, the Department of Social Protection has never been found wanting. So, I’m pleased today to announce the details of this additional support, which I know will benefit so many families in towns and villages nationwide.”
The €200 lump sum payment will be paid in two weeks time to people in receipt of long-term social welfare payments. Those who receive the yearly Christmas bonus will receive this new payment.
It is expected that over 1.3m people will receive the additional lump sum. This includes 610,600 people in receipt of the State pension (both contributory and non-contributory), 60,000 people in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance and 158,000 people who are entitled to the Disability Allowance.
The lump sum payment was signed off by the Government in February following pressure to deal with the rising cost of living pressure as a raft of supports previously announced during last year’s Budget came to an end.
Other measures announced at the time included the extension of VAT cuts on gas and electricity until October 31 and reduced school transport costs.
The Government did announce, however, that excise duty cuts on petrol and diesel would be restored on a phased basis. The first increase will come on June 1 when petrol and diesel will increase by 6c and 5c respectively.
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