Minister Calleary announces over €1 billion in new Social Protection increases to come into effect from today

• Payment increases set to take effect from 1st January onwards
• €10 increase in weekly payments – supporting pensioners, carers and people with disabilities
• Record increases in weekly Child Support Payments
• Fuel Allowance to rise by €5 to €38 per week
• €60 per week increase in Working Family Payment thresholds
• €20 increase in the monthly rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance

The Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary TD, has announced that over €1 billion in social protection increases are to come into effect from today.

These increases, secured as part of Budget 2026, will tackle child poverty and support pensioners, families, carers, and people with disabilities.

The total cost of the January improvements is some €1,093 million.

The measures coming into effect in January include:

• A €10 increase in the maximum rate of all core weekly payments, with proportionate increases for Qualified Adult dependents – benefitting over 1.5 million people.
• Weekly rates of the Child Support Payment to increase by €16 (26%) to €78 for children aged 12 and over, and by €8 (16%) to €58 for under 12s. These are the largest ever increases to the weekly Child Support Payments and will help alleviate child poverty by supporting over 330,000 children.
• Working Family Payment thresholds to increase by €60 per week for all family sizes. This will provide additional financial support for low-income families and more households will become eligible for the payment as a result of this increase.
• A €5 increase (15%) in the Fuel Allowance from €33 to €38 per week, benefitting over 414,000 households.
• An increase of €20 in the monthly rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance bringing the payment to €380 per month. This increase is to support people who play a valuable role in Irish society – parents or guardians who look after a child with a severe disability. The increase will benefit over 73,000 children.

Announcing the January Social Protection measures, Minister Dara Calleary said:

“I am very pleased to announce that over €1 billion worth of payment increases are to come into effect from today.

I am particularly pleased to announce record increases to the weekly Child Support Payments. These are the largest ever increases to the Child Support Payments and will benefit over 330,000 children. Together with the increases to the Working Family Payment thresholds, these vital supports will help to reduce child poverty.

I am also glad to be announcing a general rate increase of €10 per week for our core weekly payments. This increase will benefit over 1.5 million people right across the country, including our carers, lone parents, pensioners and people with disabilities. Importantly, those families in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance will see a €20 increase in the monthly rate of their payment from this month.

We are also increasing the rate of Fuel Allowance by €5 per week. This is the first rate increase for this key support since Budget 2022.

In supporting communities throughout the country, I have also introduced improvements to Community Employment, Tús and the Rural Social Scheme, including broadening access, increasing the top-ups by €5 per week, and bringing in €1,000 in material grants for all Community Employment schemes.

The measures I am announcing today are in addition to the €370 million in Christmas Bonus payments made in early December. There will also be further Budget measures coming into effect throughout 2026, including the extension for the first time of the Fuel Allowance scheme to families in receipt of the Working Family Payment, the extension of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance to 2 and 3 year olds, and the largest ever increases in the weekly income disregards for Carer's Allowance.”

The full list of Social Protection Budget 2026 measures is available at www.Gov.ie/DSPBudget2026.