Vol. 467 No. 1
282 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Social Welfare the measures, if any, he is considering that would better transmit the payment of social welfare entitlements on payment days that fall on bank holidays in view of the fact that many recipients currently receive two payments in one week followed by a long wait for the next subsequent payment. [12775/96]
The Department's priority is to ensure that claimants receive their payments on the due date. The payment arrangements for the bulk of social welfare recipients are not affected by bank holidays. Given the wide range of social welfare schemes and payment schedules, payment may be due on any day of the working week. A significant number of unemployed people now receive payment on Monday and when this coincides with a bank holiday the standard procedure is to bring payment forward to the preceding Friday. In the case of extended public holiday periods such as Easter and Christmas, the practice is for two weeks' entitlement to be paid simultaneously.
In general, this arrangement meets with the approval of the majority of unemployed persons. The alternative would be for payments to be paid a day later than normal for these customers due to the intervening bank holiday. I recognise, however, that the special arrangements at bank holidays may present difficulties for some people and the position is being examined to determine whether an acceptable alternative can be found which would accommodate their difficulties.
