Timeline of when to expect €200 government electricity payment along with other measures
The Government has announced new measures aimed at helping people to combat the rising cost of living in Ireland due to inflation.
Measures will include a one-off payment of €200 for energy costs, Fuel Allowance bonus, the lowering of the Drugs Payment Scheme threshold, increase in the Working Family Payment and public transport costs.
Overall the package will cost €505 million and hopes to support those vulnerable to falling into poverty.
Here is a timeline of when you can expect the new measures to come into effect.
€200 energy credit - March
The Government has agreed to increase the initial €100 VAT free energy credit for all households to €200.
The rebate will be automatically paid to account holders in late March/early April and can be carried over if the full amount is not used in the given month.
Fuel Allowance bonus - March
An extra amount of €125 will be paid to all those in receipt of the fuel allowance in March.
It is expected that the payment will be made around St. Patricks Day.
This will benefit almost 400,000 families on the Fuel Allowance Scheme.
Drugs Payment Scheme - March 1
The Government has also announced it will lower the threshold for the Drugs Payment Scheme.
This will see the threshold cut from €100 t0 €80 and is a permanent new measure.
The new measure will benefit 70,000 families.
Working Family Payment - April 1
The €10 increase in the Working Family Payment, which was announced in Budget 2022 and was to come into effect from June 1, has now been brought forward to April 1.
Public transport reduction - April 1
Those who use public transport will see a reduction in the price of tickets as the Government announced users would see a 20 per cent cut in fares.
The measure will remain in place until the end of the year and includes Bus Éireann, Irish Rail, Dublin Bus, Go Ahead, Luas, DART and Local Link.
The reduction is expected to cost around €50 million.
School Transport Scheme - No date given
The School Transport Scheme provides transport for students who live 3.2km or more from their school.
The scheme initially had a cap of €220 per family at primary level and €650 per family at post-primary level.
This cap will now be reduced to €500 for post-primary and €150 at primary level in a permanent new measure.
No date has been announced for when this reduction will be implemented, but as it is an annual charge, it is likely to apply at the next payment.
