A 75 per cent restoration of the Christmas bonus for long-term welfare recipients as well as new two weeks’ statutory paternity leave were the headline measures in the Social Protection package.
Other aspects of a widely-leaked range of social welfare changes include a €3 increase in the weekly pension for pensioners and carers aged 66 and over, as well as a €5 increase in the monthly Child benefit, bringing it to €140 per month. At its height, Child Benefit was €166 per month for the first child.
New supports to people in low-paid work include a change in the income disregard for lone parents whose youngest child aged between seven and 14 years, who are on the job seekers transitional payment, from €60 to €90 per week.
The thresholds to qualify for the Family Income Supplement is also to increase by €5 per week for families with one child and by €10 per week for families with two or more children.
