Children - €3 increase from €37 to €40 per week for children aged 12 and over in all weekly payments e.g. lone parents, jobseekers, farmers, people with disabilities, widows, participants on Community Employment schemes
Children - €2 increase from €34 to €36 per week for children up to age 12 in all weekly payments
Hot School Meals scheme - to be extended for up to 35,000 additional schoolchildren
Living Alone Allowance - €5 increase per week for people with disabilities and pensioners living alone
Fuel Allowance – an extra €2 in Fuel Allowance payment per week - 370,000 households to benefit
Household Benefits package – eligibility to be broadened for people under age 70 to allow for another adult to reside in the household
Working Lone Parents - earnings disregard for working lone parents in receipt of One-Parent- Family payment or Jobseekers Transition payment to increase by €15 to €165 per week
Working Family Payment threshold - increase of €10 per week in the income thresholds for families with up to 3 children
Jobseekers aged 25 - to receive full rate Jobseeker’s Allowance
Jobseekers under 25 – if living independently and in receipt of State supports (e.g.Rent Supplement, RAS, HAP) to receive the full rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance
New targeted activation measures to be introduced - €2.5m to be provided
Blind Welfare Allowance to be disregarded in social welfare means assessments
Carers - to benefit from an increased number of hours they can work or study every week outside the home - increased from 15 hours to 18½ hours
A 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid in early December 2019 to 1.2m people
€279 million to be paid to long-term welfare recipients in December 2019
A 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid in December 2019 to recipients of a long-term Social Welfare payment (minimum €20 payment).
- State Pensions and Widow’s/Widower’s/Surviving Civil Partner’s Pensions
- Invalidity Pension, Blind Pension, Disability Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, *Partial Capacity Benefit, Disablement Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and Guardians’ payments.
- One-Parent Family Payment, Jobseeker’s Transition Payment, Deserted Wife’s Benefit and Allowance and Farm Assist
- Community Employment, Rural Social Scheme, TÚS and Job Initiative.
- Long-term Jobseeker’s Allowance, Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, Back to Education Allowance and Daily Expenses Allowance (formerly Direct Provision Allowance).
- €5 increase in the Living Alone Allowance from €9 to €14 per week paid to pensioners and people with disabilities who are living alone – over 200,000 to benefit.
- €3 increase for qualified child dependants aged 12 and over in all weekly payments.
- €2 increase for qualified child dependants up to age 12 in all weekly payments
- Jobseekers aged 25 years to receive full rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance.
- Jobseekers under age 25 if living independently and in receipt of State supports (e.g. Rent Supplement, RAS, HAP) to receive the full rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance.
- Hot School Meals scheme to be extended from September 2020 to 35,000 additional schoolchildren.
- €3 increase for qualified child dependants aged 12 and over in all weekly payments.
- €2 increase for qualified child dependants up to age 12 in all weekly payments.
- Working Family Payment thresholds increase by €10 per week for families with 1, 2 or 3 children. Some 55,000 families are expected to benefit, at a cost of €19 million from January 2020.
- Earnings disregard for working lone parents receiving One-Parent Family Payment or Jobseeker’s Transition Payment to increase by €15 to €165 per week from January 2020 - 16,900 families to benefit.
- €5 increase in the Living Alone Allowance from €9 to €14 per week paid to people age 66 and over who are living alone.
- Eligibility for the Household Benefits package to be broadened for people under 70 that will allow for another adult to reside in the household.
- Weekly Fuel Allowance to increase by €2 to €24.50 per week from January 2020 – over 370,000 households to benefit.
- The number of hours that carers can work or study outside the home is being increased from 15 to 18 ½ per week with effect from January 2020. Over 1,200 carers are expected to benefit at a cost of €11.6 million.
- €3 increase for qualified child dependants aged 12 and over in all weekly payments.
- €2 increase for qualified child dependants up to age 12 in all weekly payments.
- Fuel Allowance will increase by €2 to €24.50 per week from January 2020 - over 370,000 households to benefit.
- Carer’s Support Grant of €1,700 per year to continue to be paid in 2020 - over 126,000 carers to benefit.
- €5 increase in the Living Alone Allowance from €9 to €14 per week for people with disabilities who are living alone – over 40,000 to benefit.
- Blind Welfare Allowance will be exempt from the means assessment for Social Welfare schemes.
- Eligibility for the Household Benefits package to be broadened for people under 70 that will allow for another adult to reside in the household.
- Additional funding of €2 million for the nationwide Community Employment scheme will be made available for training purposes in 2020. The scheme supports voluntary organisations to provide local services for their communities.
- €2.5 million is being provided in 2020 for specific activation and training supports for groups most distant from the labour market.
- The Department of Social Protection is to examine international best practice in relation to maintenance payments by liable relatives on how Ireland can achieve better outcomes in a proactive manner for families.
- The Department of Social Protection is to commission a research project that will examine funeral poverty in Ireland and the wider economic impact of bereavement.
Social Welfare Rates 2020
Social Welfare Rates Budget 2020
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Impact of social welfare Budget 2020 on various households
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For more information check Welfare.ie and Citizens Information.
- telephone the Department of Social Protection on 071 919 3302 from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
- telephone the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0761 07 4000, 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday
- contact your local Intreo Centre, Social Welfare Branch Office or Citizens Information Centre