The Government has confirmed that the Christmas Bonus will be paid in December to around 1.5 million people, but not everyone on social welfare will qualify.
A person holding euro notes
The long-awaited Christmas Bonus for social welfare recipients will be paid again this year – but not everyone will qualify for the festive boost.
The payment was confirmed as part of Budget 2026 on Tuesday and is expected to benefit around 1.5 million long-term welfare recipients. It will be paid at the usual rate of 100 per cent of a person’s weekly payment, costing the state around €370 million.
While the Department of Social Protection has not yet announced the exact date, it did confirm: “The Christmas Bonus will be paid in December 2025 to almost 1.5 million long-term social welfare recipients.” Based on previous years, eligible recipients can expect the extra payment to arrive during the week starting Monday, December 1.
However, not everyone receiving a social welfare payment will get the bonus. The once off December top up only goes to people on long-term and qualifying schemes, meaning those on short-term jobseeker’s payments or new benefit claims may miss out. Child Benefit and the Fuel Allowance also do not qualify for the Christmas Bonus.
Below is the full list of 29 social welfare payments that will qualify for the 2026 Christmas Bonus:
- 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
- Bereaved Partner’s Pension (Contributory) and (Non-Contributory)
- Work Placement Experience Programme (if your primary payment is a qualifying social welfare payment)
Other measures announced alongside the Christmas Bonus include a €10 weekly increase across core social welfare payments from January 2026, a rise in the income disregard for Carer’s Allowance and an increase of €20 in the Domiciliary Care Allowance, bringing it to €380 per month.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance will now extend to two and three year olds, while the Fuel Allowance threshold has been widened to include Working Family Payment recipients, and the weekly rate rises from €33 to €38.
Speaking about the package, Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary said: “I believe that the measures I am announcing today – with a total value of over €1.15 billion – will make a huge difference to the lives of the people we serve and, through them to the communities, in which we all live.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.