Social welfare Ireland: One group to be paid the Christmas Bonus twice

It's just one week until the Christmas Bonus is paid out to over a million people.

The bonus was confirmed back in October as part of Budget 2025's cost of living package.

It will see social welfare recipients be paid double their weekly rate.

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The Christmas Bonus will be paid the week starting 2 December 2024 to people getting a qualifying social welfare payment and it is normally paid with your social welfare payment. It's automatic, so there is no need to apply for it as long as you are on a qualifying payment.

In 2024, the Christmas Bonus is 100% of your normal weekly payment. The minimum Bonus amount that will be paid is €20.

If an Increase for a Qualified Adult is paid directly to your dependent spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, the Christmas Bonus is also paid directly to them.

For Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA), which is paid monthly, the bonus is 100% of the weekly DCA rate. The DCA portion of the bonus is calculated independently of other payments.

One major group will actually get the bonus twice - anyone who is getting two eligible social welfare payments.

If you are getting two eligible social welfare payments (for example, a One-Parent Family Payment and the Domiciliary Care Allowance or a half-rate Carer’s Allowance as well as your primary payment) you will get the Christmas Bonus for both payments.

Here's the full list of qualifying social welfare payments:

• Back to Education Allowance - people coming from jobseeker's payments need to be getting the Allowance for at least 12 months (312 days), but you may be able to use your time on your jobseeker’s payment to help you qualify.
• Back to Work Enterprise Allowance - people coming from jobseeker's payments need to be getting the Allowance for at least 12 months (312 days), but you may be able to use time on jobseeker’s payment to help you qualify
• Back to Work Family Dividend
• Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds
• Blind Pension
• Carer's Allowance and Carer's Benefit (including half-rate Carer's Allowance)
• Community Employment
• Deserted Wife's Allowance and Deserted Wife's Benefit
• Daily Expenses Allowance for 12 months or more
• Disability Allowance
• Disablement Benefit
• Domiciliary Care Allowance
• Farm Assist
• Guardian's Payment (Contributory) and (Non-Contributory)
• Illness Benefit for 12 months or more
• Invalidity Pension
• Job Initiative Scheme
• Jobseeker's Allowance for 12 months (312 days or more)
• Jobseeker's Transitional payment
• Magdalene Commission Scheme
• Death Benefit Scheme (under the Occupational Injuries Scheme)
• One-Parent Family Payment
• Partial Capacity Benefit
• Rural Social Scheme
• State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Non-Contributory)
• Supplementary Welfare Allowance for 12 months (364 days or more)
• Tús
• Widow, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Pension (Contributory) and (Non-Contributory)
• Work Placement Experience Programme (if your primary payment is a qualifying social welfare payment)

You will get a Christmas Bonus if you are getting a VTOS or Youthreach training allowance for at least 12 months. If you were getting a qualifying payment (see list above) immediately before your training allowance, you can combine this time to reach 12 months.

Fuel Allowance is not a qualifying payment for the Christmas Bonus.