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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Michelle Cullen

Major change to social welfare payments just days away as once off measures soon to be paid

Those in receipt of social welfare payments should expect some changes to the date and time they will receive payments due to the October bank holiday.

As most shops and post offices will be closed on October 31, other arrangements to collect payments have been made.

If your pension payment is due to be paid at a post office on bank holiday Monday, you will instead be able to collect it early on Saturday, October 29.

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Meanwhile, recipients who get paid by cheque due on bank holiday Monday should also receive it on Saturday.

All post offices will be closed on bank holiday Monday, 31 October and will then reopen as usual on Tuesday, 1 November.

European Money in a wallet (gettyimages.ie)

Any welfare payments due to be paid into bank accounts or credit unions will be paid on Tuesday, November 1.

Parents and guardians could receive their Child Benefit payment for November earlier than usual.

The stipend is usually paid on the first Tuesday of every month.

But the upcoming Halloween bank holiday could see people receiving the benefit a few days early as the first Tuesday would fall on November 1.

It is possible that recipients could get the payment as early as Friday, October 29 or Saturday, October 30.

Meanwhile, parents are also set to receive a one-off extra child benefit payment of €140 per child on top of their usual monthly payments.

The news comes as a number of once-off cost of living measures will be paid out to households across the country in the coming months.

A Christmas Bonus of 100% will be paid in early December to people getting a long-term social welfare payment with a minimum payment of €20.

People getting Fuel Allowance will also get a once-off payment of €400 in November.

The Fuel Allowance income threshold will also increase from €120 to €200 above the applicable State Pension (Contributory) rate for people aged under 70 in January 2023.

People aged 70 and over can qualify for Fuel Allowance as long as their weekly means is not above €500 per week for a single person and €1,000 per week for a couple.

Disablement Benefit and half-rate Carer’s Allowance will be disregarded in the means test for Fuel Allowance.

People getting Living Alone Increase will get a once-off payment of €200 in November.

If you get Fuel Allowance and Living Alone Increase, you will get both once-off payments.

People getting the Working Family Payment will get a once-off payment of €500 in November.

The Working Family Payment income limits will also increase by €40 across all family sizes in January 2023.

People getting Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension or Blind Pension will get a once-off payment of €500 in November.

People getting Disability Allowance and Blind Pension will also be able to earn up to €165 from work without affecting their payment in January 2023.

This is an increase of €25 on the previous threshold of €140.

Carers who qualify for the Carer’s Support Grant will get a once-off payment of €500 in November.

Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) will increase by €20.50 from €309.50 to €330 from January 2023.

DCA will also be available for babies who remain in an acute hospital after birth for a period of 6 months from January 2023.

€1.2 billion will also be allocated for energy supports to help consumers with the costs of utilities in 2022 and 2023.

All domestic electricity customers will get €600 credit to help reduce electricity bills.

The credit will be paid in 3 instalments of €200. The first payment will be made in November 2022.

The second electricity credit will be made in January 2023, while the third will be made in March 2023.

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