Michael McGrath has hiked the Qualified Child Payment by €5 a week for Over 12s and €2 a week for Under 12s.
Mr McGrath, as Minister for Public Expenditure, is basically the man in charge of the Government’s purse strings.
And he has just announced approval for a range of welcome supports to be paid in Social Protection benefits.
They include:
- Living alone allowance up by €5 to €19 a week
- Fuel allowance up by €3.50 a week to €28 a week, a significant help for pensioners
Qualified Child Payment up €5 and €2 for Over 12s and Under 12s respectively
- Carers’ support grant goes up by €150 a year to €1,850
- Parents’ benefit extension of three weeks
- New scheme to allow PUP recipients do some work without seeing PUP cut off
- Pension continues for all 66 year olds - was meant to jump to 67 on January 1st
Meanwhile, the price of cigarettes will also go up by 50c, bringing the total cost of a 20 pack to €14.
But businesses that have been forced to close temporarily due to Government restrictions will be eligible to receive up to €5,000 per week.
And VAT for restaurants and the hospitality sector, which was controversially hiked last year, will be cut from 13.5% to 9% from November 1 until the end of 2021.
The new scheme for businesses aims to provide support for those forced to temporarily shut during the pandemic as a result of restrictions.
This primarily affects the entertainment sector, and included bars and restaurants.
Government will make payment based on a businesses' average 2019 weekly turnover, up to a maximum of €5,000.
