Some social welfare payments will be paid in advance this weekend ahead of the May Bank Holiday.
Welfare payments that would usually be paid on Monday, May 3, will instead be either available for collection or paid into accounts on Friday, April 30.
Child Benefit which is due to arrive on Tuesday could also potentially arrive earlier, but this is not guaranteed.
Social welfare experts Money Guide Ireland shared a comprehensive guide to what you can expect this Bank Holiday weekend.
Here is a full breakdown:
Payment via the Post Office
Payments due on Monday 3rd May can be collected from Friday April 30th .
Payments due on Tuesday 4th May should not be affected.
Payments directly to bank accounts or Credit Unions
Any welfare payments due to be paid into banks/credit unions on Monday 3rd May should be paid into accounts on Friday 30th April.
Child Benefit is due on Tuesday 4th May 2021 . This should arrive in bank accounts on the usual day . In some cases, it might possibly arrive early depending on your bank. (Saturday or even Thursday ). But don’t rely on this happening.
Post Office payments should be unaffected.
It comes after another social welfare expert, Mary Watter from the North Dublin Citizens Information Service, shared five of the key payments and entitlements you could be missing out on - which could earn you thousands of euro annually.
Mary told the Irish Daily Mirror: "It is very challenging to understand and access the system. And the biggest thing we say is that people don't know what they are entitled to.
"If people are looking to access social welfare it is often at a time of difficulty when they're dealing with other issues too.
"The Citizens Information website goes through all of the information but it's about interpreting that.
"So there's three different types of payments; There's universal benefits such as child benefits, available to everyone who has the child. Then there are payments that are benefits payments based on PRSI contributions, and there are non-contributory payments, based on your means."
And Mary insisted that there were plenty of other schemes and entitlements that many people could be eligible for, without even realising.
She continued: "So for example, say someone loses their job now and they apply for the PUP payment. They may think that because it's the one in the media, it's the right payment for them.
"But if someone loses their job and they have been the sole earner earning, say, €400 a week. The PUP payment is €350, but if their partner is not working and they have two children, actually Jobseeker's Payment or Jobseeker's Allowance would give them a greater income per week.
"I don't think people realise that sometimes there's more than one option and you can take the one that's better to you.
"The other payment people are entitled to that they sometimes aren't aware of is the Working Family Payment.
"For example, if you're working and have two children, and your take home pay per week is less than €642 you could be entitled to a Working Family Payment top-up, basically you get 60% of the difference between your income and the threshold for your family type.
"If your income was €542 and you had two children, you could get €60 a week under the Working Family Payment. A lot of people would not be aware of that."
Mary added: "The other one that we would mention is the Carer's Support Grant.
"it's €1850 a year, and it is available to somebody who is caring for someone else but not getting a carer's allowance.
"It might be someone who has a good standard of living and savings, an elderly person perhaps who is caring for their spouse.
"And they can apply for this, there are certain conditions but there isn't an income condition on it.
"That's €1850 a year, it is a really good payment, and the conditions to apply for it are not very onerous, it's one that a lot of people aren't aware of."
