Cabinet to sign off on eight lump-sum payments worth €1.2bn

Kenneth Fox

The Cabinet will sign off on eight lump-sum payments to be paid to households between now and Christmas on Tuesday.

The cost-of-living payments, announced recently on budget day, worth €1.2 billion, will focus on pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, and working families.

As the Irish Examiner reports, The Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys and Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath will seek approval from Cabinet colleagues today to get payments to people as soon as next week.

The autumn double lump sum payment will kick in from next October 17th, benefitting 1.4 million people.

It will be paid to most people who get a weekly social welfare payment including all pensioners, carers and people on disability payments.

A double child benefit payment will be paid on the week beginning November 1st to 639,000 families for 1.2m children.

The fuel allowance lump sum of €400 will kick in during the week starting November 14th and will benefit 371,000 households with this number set to rise to over 450,000 next year.

Also from November 14th, a €200 lump-sum payment will be made to 234,000 people in receipt of the living alone allowance.

There will be a €500 cost-of-living payment made to those in receipt of the working family payment.

A €500 disability support grant will also be paid that week to 216,000 people receiving disability allowance, blind pension and invalidity pension.

A €500 one-off payment will also be made to over 132,000 carers receiving the carers support grant. Ms Humphreys confirmed that the annual Christmas bonus double payment will be paid the week starting December 5th.

Ministers Humphreys and McGrath are expected to say the lump-sum payments are designed to protect people during the winter and in light of the acute costs people are facing.

From January next year 81,000 more households will be eligible for the fuel allowance.