Up to 300,000 people getting the Pandemic Unemployment Payment are set to receive arrears due to them by next week.
The Christmas bonus will be paid on December 8th to PUP recipients who have gotten the benefits for at least 17 weeks since it was launched and are still on the scheme by the week of December 3rd.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection heard the Christmas bonus will cost around €94 million.
Department of Social Protection Assistant Secretary Teresa Leonard admitted that some cases were progressing slower than others.
She said this was due to complexity and inadequate or inaccurate information
Committee chair Denis Naughten emphasised the importance of the payments being made before the end of 2020 otherwise people could be taxed on the payment in the 2021 tax year, while having unused tax credits in 2020.
Teresa Leonard added that the requirement to be genuinely seeking work was a rule of the PUP scheme.
She said: "Genuinely seeking work is the rule, but in this environment we are not applying it as religiously as we would normally but there is a rule and it is applicable to the PUP scheme."
The department is under pressure in terms of resources according to her.
Ms Leonard added that right now penalties or reviews weren't being applied.
Department of Social Protection Assistant Secretary Ronan Hession said the department was taking a "pragmatic" approach during the current pandemic.
He added that he didn't think it was a problem if people were not seeking work when their employment sector was closed.
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