asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will be paying a double week payment to social welfare recipients at Christmas.
66.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Christmas Bonus Payments
65.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the details of this year's proposed double Christmas payments to social welfare recipients.
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 65 and 66 together. A Christmas bonus will be paid in the week ending 6 December 1985 to the following:
old age and widow pensioners (contributory and non-contributory)
retirement pensioners
invalidity pensioners
blind pensioners
recipients of:
deserted wife's benefit and allowance
single woman's allowance
unmarried mother's allowance
prisoner's wife's allowance
occupational injury benefit by way of pension
long term unemployed who qualify for unemployment assistance at the long term rate
persons in receipt of long term health payments (disabled person's maintenance allowance, infectious diseases, maintenance allowance, blind welfare allowance and domiciliary care allowance for handicapped children.
Over half a million recipients will qualify for the bonus which will include about 105,000 long term unemployed. This is the first time the long term unemployed have been included and because of this big increase in the coverage of the scheme each person who qualifies will get a bonus of 75 per cent of their normal weekly entitlement instead of a double payment. Last year the Christmas bonus cost about £20 million. This year the extended bonus scheme will cost almost £21 million.
Question No. 67 taken as oral.