Thousands of Irish to get DOUBLE payment NEXT WEEK as part of social plan restructuring – are you eligible?

THOUSANDS of welfare recipients to receive double payment NEXT WEEK before the holidays.

The prepayment will be made the week of December 19th before the next payment on December 30th as welfare payment schedules switch over the Christmas period.

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Affected are those who receive payments at a post office, by check or directly into their bank accounts.

If you receive a payment on December 22nd or 23rd, it will be made one day earlier on December 21st or 22nd.

However, if you are expecting cash on January 2nd, the payment will be made on December 30th instead.

The Department for Social Protection has confirmed that routine weekly payments will then return in the new year from 3 January 2023.

On 12/26, 12/27 and 01/02/2020 all department offices, including the Intreo Center and branch offices, will also remain closed.

The change in social assistance payment dates also affects part-time, casual or short-time workers over the Christmas and New Year period.

Victims are advised to follow the guidelines on MyWelfare.ie to ensure they receive their payments on time.

Elsewhere, people losing their jobs could receive welfare payments of up to €450 a week, according to new proposals the government is considering today.

Social Protection Secretary Heather Humphreys last week put forward her plan to radically overhaul the wage-related benefit system.

The Fine Gael minister briefed cabinet mates on a new plan to link welfare payments to people’s wages in their last job.

The move would result in people who have paid PRSI for five years receiving 60 percent of their gross income from the welfare system if they lose their jobs.

However, this is paid out up to a maximum of €450 per week and would be available for up to six months.

The move is meant to cushion the blow for people who suddenly lose their jobs and have to try to make ends meet on regular welfare rates.

For people who paid their PRSI in a job for between two and five years, the new wage-related benefit would be tied to 50 per cent of their earnings, up to a maximum of €300 per week.

In the past week, more than 1.3 million people have received the social welfare Christmas bonus.

With the Christmas bonus, all welfare recipients receive a double payment in December to get through the holidays.

This year, the double payment cost more than 300 million euros, with 1,306,185 people receiving a Christmas boost over several days.

The payment was made to pensioners, job seekers, carers, people with disabilities, widows and single parents.

This was also the first year that people claiming long-term sick pay received double the Christmas payment – a move that will benefit 17,500 people.