The Government announces Christmas Bonus will be paid to over 1.6 million people

The Government announces Christmas Bonus will be paid to over 1.6 million people the week beginning 7th December, which covers the following:

• Record €390 million to be paid to Social Welfare recipientsPeople in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) for at least 17 weeks to receive the Bonus this year

• Minister Humphreys urges people to spend Christmas Bonus locally to support businesses as they re-open

The Government today (26th November) announced the details of the largest ever Christmas Bonus.

The Christmas Bonus will be paid to over 1.6 million recipients in the week beginning 7th December with payments totalling €390 million.

As per previous years, the 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid to long term social welfare recipients such as pensioners, people with disabilities, carers and lone parents.

On an exceptional basis this year, the Christmas Bonus will also be paid to recipients of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) provided they have been in receipt of a PUP payment - continuously or otherwise - for at least 4 months (17 weeks) since March.

It’s estimated that 311,270 people who have been on the PUP will receive the Christmas Bonus, totally over €93m.This means that approximately 90% of PUP recipients (currently 350,000) are in line to receive a Christmas Bonus.

Pandemic Unemployment Payment Week

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment will be paid on Tuesday, 8th December.

Therefore, the Pandemic Unemployment Payment Week begins tomorrow, November 27th.

As the PUP Payment Week runs from Friday to Thursday, any person in receipt of PUP for any one day of the period Friday, 27th November to Thursday, 3rd December, will receive the Christmas Bonus payment on Tuesday, 8th December as long as they have accrued their 17 weeks.

For example, that means, people who go back to work this Monday or Tuesday will still receive the Christmas Bonus as they worked at least one day during the said period.

The same criteria is also being applied to those on Jobseeker’s payments, who in previous years would have only received the Bonus if they had been out of work for at least 15 months.