Liam Aylward
Question:64 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will consider extending the Christmas bonus to include recipients of long-term disability benefit. [17091/95]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
The Christmas bonus will amount to 70 per cent of normal weekly payments again this year and there will be a minimum payment of £20. It will be paid during the first week in December at a cost of almost £40 million. More than 1.25 million people will benefit i.e. about 755,000 recipients and their 500,000 dependants and will go to people on long-term payments including those receiving old age, retirement, widows, widowers and invalidity pensions, lone parent's allowance, unemployment assistance at the long-term rate, carer's allowance, disabled person's maintenance allowance as well as FÁS and CERT trainees. All participants on community employment will also receive the bonus this year.
The bonus was introduced originally in 1980 for elderly and other pensioners. It was subsequently extended to include the long-term unemployed in receipt of long-term Unemployment Assistance. The long-term sick in receipt of Invalidity Pension are covered by the bonus but I have no proposals at present to extend it to other categories.