Social welfare Ireland: The four cost-of-living lump sum payments to be paid this week

This week will see four supports being paid out to social welfare recipients to help ease the burden of the ongoing Cost of Living crisis.

These supports were introduced as part of Budget 2025 and are part of a total of ten lump sum payments that will be paid before Christmas.

Budget 2025, which was announced last month, contained a €1.2 billion social welfare package “targeted to those with the greatest need”.

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The Social Protection budget – the largest in the history of the State – will assist families, pensioners, carers and people with disabilities with the cost of living through a mix of lump sum payments, targeted supports and increases to weekly payments.

As part of the Budget, there will be four cost-of-living lump sum supports being paid this week. You can find the dates and details for all four payments below.

All the lump sum and double payments are automatically paid - people do not need to apply for them.

Double Child Benefit payment

On Tuesday (November 5), 667,000 families will receive the first of two double child benefit payments before Christmas.

The measure means that €280 per child will be paid this week in respect of over 1.2 million children across the State. The second €280 child benefit payment will be distributed to Irish parents in December, aiming to alleviate financial pressure on parents in the run-up to Christmas.

Child Benefit is paid to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 18th birthday if they are in full-time education or have a disability.

Fuel Allowance Lump Sum Payment

A €300 Fuel Allowance Lump Sum Payment will be paid to over 400,000 households this week (payment day differs per recipient) on top of their weekly entitlement in November.

Fuel Allowance is a payment to help with the cost of heating your home during the winter months. It is paid to only one person in a household.

Disability Support Payment

From Wednesday (November 6) to Friday (November 8), a €400 Disability Support Payment will be paid to 213,000 people with disabilities (recipients of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension).

If you get Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Blind Pension and/or the Carer's Support Grant, you'll get one payment of €400, even if you qualify for more than one of these payments or you are caring for more than one person.

Working Family Payment

On Thursday (November 7), a €400 lump sum Working Family Payment will be paid to 46,000 households.

The Working Family Payment is a weekly, tax-free payment available to employees with children. It gives extra financial support to families with children with rates depending on their incomes and family size. The payment was previously called Family Income Supplement.

You must be an employee to get WFP. You cannot get it if you are self-employed only. The Working Family Payment income limits will increase by €60 a week for all family sizes in January.

Announcing the details of the four lump-sum social welfare supports to be paid this week, Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, said: “The payments being paid this week will be followed by five further lump sum payments over the coming weeks, including a €400 Carer’s Support Payment, a second double Child Benefit payment, and the Christmas Bonus payments in early December.

“This suite of lump sum payments means that people will have extra money in their pockets, which will ease the pressure and stress that many households are facing.”

In addition to the series of lump-sum payments, Minister Humphreys also secured across-the-board payment increases and a range of targeted supports, which take effect from January 2025. The full list of Budget 2025 Social Protection measures is available at Gov.ie/Budget2025.

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