Vol. 484 No. 3
273 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if his Department will extend the Christmas bonus payments to persons who are in receipt of disability benefit payments for a period of 12 months or more; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21888/97]
274 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the cost of extending the Christmas bonus payment to persons who are in receipt of disability benefit for a continuous period of 12 months or more; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21889/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 273 and 274 together.
This year's Christmas bonus was paid last week to 722,000 social welfare recipients in receipt of long-term social welfare payments including disablement pension, death benefit by way of pension, old age (contributory and non-contributory) pensions, retirement pension, invalidity pension, widow's and widower's non-contributory pension, widow's and widower's contributory pension, orphan's (contributory and non-contributory) pensions, pre-retirement allowance, blind pension, carer's allowance, one parent family payment, payments to people formerly in receipt of deserted wife's benefit and allowance and prisoner's wife's allowance, unemployment assistance at the long-term rate and disability allowance.
The bonus payment amounts to 70 per cent of the person's normal weekly payment subject to a minimum payment of £20. The cost of this measure is estimated at £41 million.
The bonus is paid to those who are sick or disabled and in receipt of invalidity pension or disability allowance. It is not payable to people in receipt of disability benefit.
The cost of paying the bonus to some 22,000 people in receipt of disability benefit for more than 12 months would be £1.2 million.
