The new payment will be introduced in the coming months and will be backdated to January 2026, with the total amount expected to exceed €304
15:10, 23 Nov 2025
Thousands more are now eligible(Image: SOPA Images)
Thousands of Irish families are set to receive a double Christmas bonus.
This is alongside a weekly social welfare increase of €10, and a minimum wage boost of 65 cents as part of the measures introduced in Budget 2026, including an increase to €360 for one crucial payment.
However, families who may not qualify for these benefits will still benefit from other financial enhancements included in October’s fiscal plan.
Working Family Payment
It has been confirmed that the income thresholds for the Working Family Payment will be increased by €60 per week for all family sizes starting from 2 January.
This tax-free weekly payment is designed for working parents and offers additional financial support to families, reports RSVP Live.
The rates, which vary based on income and family size, will be 60 per cent of the difference between the WFP income limit for your family size and your assessable income.
The minimum rate of the payment stands at €20 each week.
The WFP income test does not take into account capital and certain payments – such as Child Benefit and Fuel Allowance – do not contribute towards the family’s income.
In January, the income limits will be adjusted to €705 weekly for a family with one child, €806 for two children, €907 for three children, €998 for four children and €1,124 for those with five children in their family.
Families with eight or more children earning €1,472 or less each week will also be eligible for the WFP.
Families who reckon they might be eligible for the payment can apply on MyWelfare.ie or complete a WFP1 form.
Christmas bonus payment
Fuel Allowance with Working Family Payment
For the first time in history, those qualifying for the Working Family Payment will also receive Fuel Allowance to assist with the cost of heating their homes during the winter months.
The current weekly payment of €33 has been boosted by €5 to €38 in the budget.
This means that the 28-week payment now totals €1,064 during the Fuel Allowance season.
However, the estimated 50,000 families expecting Fuel Allowance cash should note that it won’t hit their accounts immediately.
Parents have been cautioned that they won’t qualify until 1 January, with the funds not reaching their accounts until March or April 2026 – but rest assured, the funds will be backdated to January. The total amount is expected to exceed €304.
Christmas bonus
The double Christmas bonus will happen for anyone who is getting two eligible social welfare payments, reports RSVP Live.
If you are getting two eligible social welfare payments (for example, a One-Parent Family Payment and the Domiciliary Care Allowance or a half-rate Carer’s Allowance as well as your primary payment) you will get the Christmas Bonus for both payments.
Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
More children than ever before will now be eligible for the one-off Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance following its extension in the budget. Children aged two and three are now included in the scheme, which caters for those up to the age of 22.
This means-tested payment is designed to help families with the extra costs of clothing and footwear when children start school each autumn, and it opens from 1 June to 30 September each year.
While the payments are a welcome relief for those newly qualified or already receiving support, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has warned that families could find themselves worse off financially next year. The ESRI noted that the removal of one-off measures will have a limited impact on child poverty and could lead to a drop in average household income next year, despite €320 million being set aside to tackle child poverty.
In a heated Dail session last week, Sinn Féin Finance spokesman Pearse Doherty criticised the budget for favouring the wealthy with tax breaks while ordinary workers were left “royally screwed”.
He stated: “We have constant price hikes and ever increasing bills, and it means that working households, even those with two incomes, are really struggling to keep up now. They’re squeezed from all angles. It’s price hike after price hike. It’s bill after bill, and people can’t catch their breath.”
Tánaiste Simon Harris defended the budget during the tense Dail exchange, claiming he was being “shouted down by a bully” and insisting that the majority of the budget was aimed at improving services.
The ESRI has estimated that the withdrawal of one-off supports introduced in previous budgets could cost lower-income households 4.1 per cent of their disposable income.
However, families who qualify for supports announced last month have been urged not to miss out on the payments available to them.
Roughly 50,000 households are set to receive a one-off payment exceeding €300, while additional families will benefit from what’s being described as the “largest ever increase” to the Child Support Payment.
New parents can anticipate a triple €420 Child Benefit payment landing in their accounts.
Meanwhile, others will see their social welfare increase by €20.
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