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9th October 2018
04:29pm BST
The Christmas bonus for welfare recipients has officially been confirmed in today’s Budget 2019 announcement.
It was feared that this year's payment would be scrapped after Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty had said there was “currently no provision for a Christmas bonus in the Department’s allocation for 2018”.
But the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has now confirmed, ‘For the first time in a decade, a 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid to 1.2 million customers.
‘In early December 2018, €264.3 million will be spent on the Christmas Bonus.’
#Budget19 For the first time in a decade, a 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid to 1.2 million customers. In early December 2018, €264.3 million will be spent on the Christmas Bonus. #YourDEASP @ReginaDo @merrionstreet pic.twitter.com/txPTuCfDsZ
— welfare.ie (@welfare_ie) October 9, 2018
Last year the bonus was 85% of a weekly payment and this is the first time since 2008 that it’s been restored to the full 100%.
The decision will affect 1.2million welfare recipients across the country, many of whom rely on the extra payment in the lead up to Christmas.
It’s also been revealed that cigarettes will be going up by 50 cent a packet from midnight tonight, while alcohol prices will remain the same.
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