Christmas Payment Dates and Bonus 2025

Christmas opening hours for Intreo Centres, PPSN Centres and PSC Centres are as follows:

You can contact us on these phone numbers during the opening hours listed above.

0818 405 060
0818 607 080 (Community Welfare Services)
By e-mail at:
info@welfare.ie

Where a walk-in Public Service Card Service is in operation, this service will be available up until 12.00 noon on 24 December. Walk-in availability may be reduced over the remainder of the Christmas period.

The quickest and easiest way to apply for income supports is online at: www.MyWelfare.ie

In the event of an extreme emergency (damaged property from extreme weather/house fire) occurring on the days our Intreo/Branch offices are closed over the Christmas period. Details of how the Community Welfare Services can be contacted are below.

This phoneline is for emergencies only and will not deal with general department queries

Phone 087 2895001 from 10am to 2.30pm Thursday 25, Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 December.

Outside of these hours please email DNCWS@welfare.ie

Our offices and our designated CWS phoneline (0818 60 70 80) will be open again on Monday 29 December at 10.00am.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Department of Social Protection.

If you get a social welfare payment, the date which you receive your payment may change during the Christmas and New Year period. Details of all payment arrangements for this period are provided below.

Weekly payments

If you receive a weekly social welfare payment, you will get your payment as usual during the week commencing Monday 15 December, and an advanced payment for the following week. This applies to payments made at post offices, by cheque or directly into your financial institution account.

Post Office Payments over Christmas: If your post office payment date is usually a Monday or a Tuesday just a reminder that post offices will be open next Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 December, and your next weekly social welfare payment will be available next week on Monday and Tuesday.

If you are on a jobseeker’s casual or part-time payment, you need to provide dockets in advance as advised to ensure your payment continues over the Christmas period.

When we receive the dockets, your payment will issue as follows:

• Jobseeker’s Allowance will get two payments covering the **signing weeks ending 16 and 23 December on Friday 19 December
• Jobseeker’s Benefit will get two payments covering the **signing weeks ending the 17 and 24 December on Friday 19 December
• normal payment arrangements for **signing week ending 30 December and 31 December will resume on Tuesday, 6 January 2026

**for the purposes of these schemes ‘signing week’ refers to the administrative payment week

In order to ensure you receive your payments on time this month, please follow the guidelines on MyWelfare.ie on how to submit your work patterns correctly.

Illness Benefit customers: please continue to send in your ‘Certificate of Incapacity for Work’ over the Christmas and New Year period.

If you are getting income support from the Department of Social Protection you should let us know of your absence in advance of travel, you can do this by visiting your local Intreo Centre or Branch Office.

A 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid in the week beginning 1 December 2025 excluding Casual Jobseeker's who will be paid in the week beginning 8 December 2025.

Please note a minimum bonus amount of €20 will be paid.

You may receive the bonus if you are getting:

• Back to Education Allowance *
• Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
• Back to Work Family Dividend
• Beneficiary of Temporary Protection Weekly Payment
• Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds
• Blind Pension
• Carer's Allowance
• Carer's Benefit
• Community Employment Programme
• Daily Expenses Allowance *
• Death Benefit Scheme (under the Occupational Injuries Scheme)
• Deserted Wife's Benefit and Deserted Wife's Allowance
• Disability Allowance
• Disablement Benefit
• Domiciliary Care Allowance
• Farm Assist
• Guardian's Payment (Contributory and Non-contributory)
• Illness Benefit *
• Invalidity Pension
• Jobseeker's Allowance *
• Job Initiative participants
• Jobseeker's Transitional Payment
• Magdalen Commission Scheme
• One-Parent Family Payment
• Partial Capacity Benefit
• Rural Social Scheme
• State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Non-contributory)
• Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) Scheme *
• Tús (community work placement initiative)
• Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension and Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-contributory) Pension

** The Christmas Bonus will only be paid to you if you have been getting an eligible payment for at least 12 months.

All department offices, including Intreo Centres and Branch Offices, will be closed on 25 and 26 December 2025 and 1 January 2026.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Department of Social Protection.