The Christmas Bonus was paid last week to over 1.2 million recipients at a cost of €65 million. The Bonus was originally introduced in 1980 for certain recipients and extended to long-term jobseekers in 1985. The bonus was paid annually until it was abolished in 2009.
I was pleased to be in a position to partially restore the bonus this year. A 25% bonus (subject to a minimum payment of €20) was paid to the beneficiaries of all schemes to which the bonus previously applied.
In order to receive the bonus, a person must have been in receipt of a jobseeker’s allowance payment for 391 days, including any time spent on jobseeker’s benefit. The 25% bonus applies to the recipient’s weekly social welfare payment including any increases for a qualified adult and/or for qualified children. For example, a long-term unemployed jobseeker with no means, in receipt of a personal rate, a qualified adult rate and with two child dependants, would receive a bonus of €93.10.
Where both members of couple are individually in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance, eligibility for the bonus is based on the individual duration of each member of the couple on a jobseekers payment. Thus, a bonus is paid to each member of the couple provided both (individually) have a duration of 391 days or more, to one member where one has a duration of 391 days or more and to neither member where both (individually) have a duration of less than 391 days.
Time spent as a qualified adult on another person’s jobseeker’s payment is not counted, for bonus purposes, in order to determine the duration on a jobseeker’s payment. These arrangements are unchanged since the bonus was first introduced for long-term jobseekers.
